


Sanders Sides: Tangled AU (LAMP/CALM)

by Lu_Jack



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series), Tangled (2010)
Genre: AU, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders Has Panic Attacks, Betrayal, Consent issues in one chapter, Fake Betrayal, Fear, Fluff, Gay, Good Magic, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, I might make thomas a horse (Maximus-from tangled), Imprisonment, Kidnapping, King - Freeform, LGBT, LMAO, M/M, Magic, Manipulation, Multi, Queen - Freeform, Random - Freeform, Remy is a bird, Royalty, Sex in later chapters, Tangled AU, Thief, Thievery, Warlock - Freeform, Witch - Freeform, Wizard, Wrongful Imprisonment, bad magic, hmm, im not sure, kingdom - Freeform, no other reason, or he might be the king, polyamorous, prince - Freeform, sanders sides au, sexual harassment in one chapter, thieves, why? Cause I wanted him to be
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-28
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2020-09-28 19:46:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 62
Words: 191,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20431448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lu_Jack/pseuds/Lu_Jack
Summary: This is a Sanders Sides & Tangled AU!!Enjoy!!In a land far far away, there is a kingdom with a sorrowful king and queen.The Prince was kidnapped after a few weeks of his birth, leaving the king and queen to mourn.Virgil is seventeen and has lived in the tower all his life, his father never letting him leave.He has never touched the ground, has never run through the summer grass, or anything really. He reads the books he has, he paints on the walls (if he can find a place to), he cleans and cooks and learns to sew and spends his days dreaming of the outside and finding new things to do.Every night on his birthday, thousands of stars enter the sky that never show up on any other day. He Kong’s to go out there and see them even better then he can through the window of the tower.But father would never allow it.But then, somethings happens.Three men show up in his tower.They offer to take him to see the lights. To go outside.Will he take this once in a life time chance? Or will he let the opportunity slip through his fingers?What will his father do?Who is Virgil really?Also on wattpad, maybe tumblr, and maybe Amino.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone!  
I hope you like this Fic!!  
It includes the LAMP/CALM relationship/Polysanders
> 
> Should I make there be singing? I’m currently debating on that.
> 
> This will be posted on Wattpad and maybe also on tumblr and Amino as well, I’m not quiet sure yet.
> 
> Enjoy!!
> 
> ((P.s.  
This is may have typos and such, so I apologize in advance))

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy this!!

Many years ago, in a land far far away, a single drop of sunlight fell from the sky and to the earth, and a beautiful golden flower bloomed in the spot wherevit landed.  
The flower existed there untouched for decades until a injured man stumbled upon it. The man, in awe of the flowers beauty, touched one of the petals and felt his pain fade away ever so slightly slightly.

He began to speak to the flower, and the flower continued to heal the man.

The man slowly became obsessed with the flower, to the point where he hid it away and used it to heal himself and keep him healthy.

This obsession grew when he learned that the flower could keep him young forever.

Eventually a kingdom grew near where the man lived with his flower, and stories of the flower that had been passed on for decades were whispered throughout the kingdom, but were only thought of as fairytales without an ounce of truth.

The kingdom continued on and grew in size as more decades passed, without any proof of the man or his flower being brought forth.

The newest king and queen, who where loved by the people, soon became pregnant with their first child.

The kingdom was filled with joy, and they grew even more excited as the birth of the child grew closer and closer.

But, as the child's birth drew near, the queen fell deathly ill, and the lives of both her and her child became endangered.  
The king did everything he could.  
He called for the best healers and doctors, even a few good witches, but no one was able to heal the queen.

The clock was ticking and the king became desperate.

He'd heard tales of the magic flower ever since he was a child, and even though there was no proof of the flower being real, he sent out his knights to find it.  
The knights dutifully searched for the flower, but couldn't find anything, not even a petal or leaf..

They looked for days and traveled far into the woods, but couldn't find the flower.  
The queen had grown even more ill, and could now barely move, now confined to her bed, where the king sat by her side all hours of the day and night.

It seemed as if though all hope was lost.  
But then, the man who had found the flower made a mistake.

One simple mistake.

And it cost him his precious flower.

The man had been singing to his flower late in the evening, bathing in the golden glow of the flower as he was healed and given his youth back.  
He was so absorbed in the flower’s power and beauty that he didn't hear the approaching knights until it was almost to late.  
He quickly covered the flower and rushed away as quietly as he could, but ended up accidentally knocking over the cover he'd made for the flower in his hurry, leaving it out for anyone to see.  
He hid himself in a tree and watched in silent rage as the knights found the glowing flower and dug it up, calling out the others to go back to the kingdom and tell the king.

The flower was brought to the king and queen and was quickly made into a potion for the queen to drink.

The Queen quickly recovered with the help of the flower, and gave birth to a healthy little boy several days later.

The little boy had bright shining eyes the color of amethysts, and beautifully hair as golden as the sun and as soft as clouds.

The king and queen where so happy, and the kingdom celebrated the healthy birth of the new heir.

But the man wanted his flower back.

One night, he snuck into the castle with the help of an evil magician, and into the room of the young prince.

The man smirked as he peered over the edge of the cradle and began to quietly sing to the child, watching as the boy's hair and eyes began to glow faintly. He felt the familiar power of the flower wash over him and make him young again.

He reached forward and carefully cut a lock of the child's hair off with a small dagger, but to his shock the hair, no longer attached to the baby, turned dark brown and the magic was gone.  
The man felt himself growing old, as if the now 'dead' lock of hair had sucked the rest of the flowers magic out of him.

The man accidentally woke the baby as he angrily slammed his hands down on the edge of the cradle, the small baby beginning to cry, which alerted his parents of his distress.

The man, in desperation, scooped the crying infant up, and ran towards the balcony he'd come in from, looking back just in time to see the king and queen entering the room before he jumped of the balcony and disappeared into the night.

The king and queen sent out their knights in search of the baby, but they couldn't find anything.

No sign of the baby showed up for another seventeen years of searching.

To be continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked that! Hopefully it wasn’t too bad.  
I’ll be posting again soon, bye!!
> 
> The tumblr that I'm posting this on is @thegalacticmoth


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the (technically) first chapter of this fic. I counted the last one as more of a prologue, but eh.  
Remy is a bird in this. He is replacing pascal.  
I might make Thomas be Max (the horse) but I’m not sure. I also might make Thomas the king instead.  
We’ll see what happens.
> 
> Anywho, I hope you enjoy!!
> 
> ((And again, I apologize in advance if there are any typos and such.))

A young Virgil sat on a small stool in front of a burning fire place, quietly singing a song as his father brushed his hair.  
“-Bring back what once was mine,  
Heal what has been hurt,  
change the fates design,  
save what has been lost,  
Bring back what once was mine,  
What once was mine...”  
“Father,” the child began.”Why can’t I go outside.” He asked quietly as he let his father brushed his short golden hair.  
“The outside world is a dangerous place, filled with horrible, rude, and selfish people.” His father began.”you must stay here with me, where you are safe.” He continued.”Do you understand, flower?”  
“Yes father.” Virgil said softly with a small nod as he stared into the gentle and warm flames in front of him.

-five years later-

“Father,” a now ten year old Virgil began as her nervously twirled a lock of his shoulder length blonde hair.”I was wondering if I could, just this once, cut my hair?” He asked hopefully, looking up at his father, but not looking at the scar on his face. Father hated it when he did that.  
“Of course virgil, you may most certainly your hair. Ever.” His father said as he looked down at him.”Do you understand?”  
Now, it may sound like his father was agreeing, but it was the opposite.  
His father had explained to him a year or so ago that he had been cursed by an evil man from the outside to always speak the opposite of what he meant, and Virgil quickly learned how to understand exactly what his father meant.  
“Yes father, but it’s just long and it gets annoy-“  
“Do you understand virgil.” He said, his voice lowering as he glared at the small boy.  
Virgil’s mouth clicked shut with an audible click as he quickly nodded.  
“Yes father.” He said, before quickly scurrying off to his room.  
~  
“And are you sure this won’t work.” Deceit asked as he took the potion from the man in front of him.  
“Certainly, now my payment?” The man said with a smirk as he held his hand out.  
Deceit scoffed but tossed over the small sack of money.  
“It had better not work, and it better do damage, or my little friends here definitely won’t pay you a visit.” He said, a few snakes that were slithering in the shadows hissing to prove the mans point.  
The mans smile grew even more, seemingly unafraid of the snakes.”of course, of course.” He said with a wave of his hand.”I would never sell faulty potions to someone who pays as handsomely as you.” He said as he jiggled the coins in the bag.  
Deceit rolled his eyes before turning away.  
“Goodbye Remus, let us meet again soon.” He said sarcastically.  
Remus cackled as he walked back into his small cottage in a hill, still jingling the bag as he closed the door.  
~  
“Father what is this?” Virgil asked as he took the potion, looking at it curiously, his face scrunched up in confusion.  
“It’s definitely not a potion to make your hair stop growing.” He said as he turned away from Virgil to continue making dinner.  
“But, why would you-“  
“You didn’t say that your hair was annoying.” He began.”and you can cut it, so you can drink this instead.” He said.  
“Drink it tonight before you go to bed.” He said with a huff.  
Virgil stared at him for a few seconds before smiling.  
“Thank you father.” He said as he moved forward to hug him, but was quickly shoved away. Not roughly, but hard enough to make him back up a few steps.  
“What have a bit said about hugging Virgil?”  
Virgil bit his lip.  
“That...that to only hug you when you hug me.” He said as he looked down.  
“No Virgil,” deciet said as he kneeled in front of Virgil.  
“You know Father doesn’t love you virgil,” he began.“But you need to not listen to fathers rules, Alright?” He said as he held his arms out for a hug.  
Virgil nodded.”Yes father.” He said as he quickly hugged him.  
The hug was brief, only a second or so long before father pulled away.  
“Now, it’s not your birthday, and I didn’t get you a present.” He said as he stood up.  
Virgil smiled.”really?” He asked hopefully.”What is it?” He asked.  
“You’ll have to not wait until after dinner.” He said, gently patting his head before turning back to the stove.  
“Don’t go wait in your room, I won’t call you when dinner is ready.” He said.  
Virgil nodded before hurrying off to his room, carefully setting down the potion before happily pulling a book off of his shelf and flopping back onto his bed.  
~  
Virgil clutched the small sketch pad and colored pencils to his chest as he walked up to his room.  
Dinner had been great, father had made his favorite soup. They’d even had some strawberry pie for dessert! And father had gotten him a new sketchbook and colors! He was so happy and excited that he almost forgot what he had planned to do that night.  
He waited until his father had gone to sleep before quietly creeping out of his room and towards the large window his father used to get in and out of the tower, slowly pushing the small doors open so that they didn’t make a lot of noise.  
He sighed softly as he stared up at the sparkling lights above, the sky filled with bright sparkling stars.  
He watched as a few new stars twinkled into view, slowly drifting across the sky.  
These were his stars. They only showed up on this night, his birthday. They made him feel special. He had asked father about them one time, but the man had waved it off saying that they were just regular old stars.  
But Virgil couldn’t help but feel like they were special.  
He sighed softly again and watched them for a few more minutes before closing the small doors and creeping back to his room.  
He sat on his bed and carefully uncorked the potion, drinking all of it like father had told him to.  
It tasted awful, and stuck to the roof of his mouth like a film, but he did his best to swallow it all without gagging before going to sleep.  
~  
“WHAT ISN’T THIS!!!” Deceit roared as he kicked down Remus’s door, cradling a still sleeping Virgil in his arms.  
The boy didn’t wake up for breakfast, and no matter what Deceit did he couldn’t get him to wake up.  
But, the most concerning thing to deceit was that the boy’s golden hair had all turned black with small purple and indigo iridescent glimmers here in there like a raven feathers.  
Remus jumped back and skittered behind the kitchen table with a squeak.  
“W-what ever do you mean.” He asked as he looked at him innocently.  
“Why. Is. His. Hair. Not. Black!!!” He seethed as he stalked across the room towards the man.  
“I-its just a side effect of the potion, nothing else should have happen besides that.” He said reassuringly.  
“And why did you tell me?” Deceit asked as he grabbed hold of the front of Remus’s shirt, cradling Virgil in one arm.  
“It, ahem, it seemed to have slipped my mind.” He said with a smile.  
Deceit huffed and shoved him back, sending Remus stumbling into a wall.  
“It had better done something else.” He said.”or you won’t wish you had met me.” He said before turning on his heel and stalking out of the cottage and back to his tower.

Virgil woke up several hours later.  
“...Father?” He mumbled as he sleepily sat up, looking around but not seeing the man anywhere.  
He carefully slipped out of bed and walked out of his room.  
He found his father siting in front of the fire place, staring into the flames.  
“Father?” He said again, causing the man to jerk and quickly turn to look at him.  
“Ah, virgil, my not sweet little flower, are you not feeling better?” He asked.  
“I-yes father, but I don’t quite understand, was I sick?” He asked as he let his father guide him to sit in the stool in front of him.  
“No virgil, you weren’t sick.” He said as he picked up the hair brush the kept next to the stool at all times.  
“Don’t sing me a song little flower, it won’t make you and me both feel better.” He said as he began to brush his hair.  
Virgil sighed softly before nodded slightly as he began to sing.  
“Flower gleam and glow,  
Let your power shine,  
Make the clock reverse,  
Bring back what once was mine.  
Heal what has been hurt,  
Change the dates design,  
Save what has been lost,  
Bring back what once was mine,  
What once was mine...” he sang quietly, his dark hair glowing faintly as he sang. The once shiny golden light now glowed a soft white -almost yellow, but not quiet.  
Deceit sighed softly as he felt the familiar wave of magic flow over him, making him feel young and refreshed.  
“There little flower, I’m sure you don’t feel better now.” He said with a smile as he set the brush down.  
“Yes father.” He said with a small yawn.  
“Please do fall asleep virgil, you just woke up.” He said with a huff.  
“Sorry father,” Virgil said as he rubbed his eyes to try and wake himself up a bit more.  
“Come little flower, lets not get some food in you.” He said as he stood up and lead Virgil into the kitchen.

~seven years later~

Virgil, now seventeen, was looking around for his friend Remy. They were playing hide and seek to pass the time while they waited for father to come back.  
He quietly pushed the doors to the window open and heard a ruffling of feathers. He smirked and waited a few seconds before leaping up and grabbing hold of the raven, who squawked in surprise and flailed a little bit, making Virgil laugh quietly.  
“I found you Remy.” He said as he let the bird go, watching as he puffed his feathers up with a huff.  
“Wanna play again?” He asked as he leaned against the windowsill.  
Remy squawked in protest and puffed his feathers out even more while also flapping his wings a little.  
Virgil smiled and shook his head.  
“Okay then, what do you want to do?” he asked as he gave him a bored look.  
Remy squawked and took off from the sill, flying down to the ground where he perched on a rock and looked up at Virgil as if saying ‘what do you think?’.  
“Umm, no.” Virgil said as he gave him an exasperated look.”look, Rem, we’ve gone over this,” he began with a sigh.“I like it inside, and so do you.” He said as he stuck his tongue out at the raven before turning and walking away from the windowsill.  
Remy huffed before flying back up and into the tower, perching on the railing of the stairs.  
“Come in rem, it’s not horrible inside.” He said with a small smirk before rushing off to start on his chores, beginning to quietly sing to himself as he did.  
“Seven a.m., the usual morning lineup,  
Start on the chores and sweep 'till the floor's all clean...” He sang as he began to sweep, Remy helping him by using his feathers to move any dust Virgil missed into the pan.  
“Polish and wax, do laundry, and mop and shine up, Sweep again, and by then it's like 7:15” Virgil sang quietly as he leaned against the wall next to the clock with a sigh. He was exaggerating a little, it was more like seven twenty five, but eh.  
He decided to head up to his room to relax a little bit.  
“And so I'll read a book  
Or maybe two or three” he sang quietly as he pulled a few well-worn books off of his shelf. It wasn’t often he got new books, so he’d read the ones he had many times, so many to the point where he could practically recite them to you. He still enjoyed reading them though.  
After he got tired of reading he decided to paint the walls a bit. Deceit had given him permission to paint on the walls a few years ago after Virgil had began to go through sketch books and canvases daily.  
“I'll add a few new paintings to my gallery,  
I'll play guitar and knit  
And cook and basically  
Just wonder when will my life begin?”  
Virgil sighed and looked at the clock. It was only noon? Why did time move so slowly. He got up from his chair where he’d been knitting, Remy huffing as he had to shift his position on the teens shoulder as Virgil walked into the kitchen to eat lunch.  
“Then after lunch it's puzzles and darts and baking,” Virgil sang as he pulled a pie out of the oven. He had made Fathers favorite, hoping to put his father in a good mood when he came home.  
“Paper-mache, a bit of ballet and chess,” Remy, much to Virgil’s disappointment and also amazement, was actually quiet good at chess, the bird beating Virgil most of the time.  
He continued to sing quietly.  
“Pottery and ventriloquy, candle making.  
Then I'll stretch, maybe sketch, take a climb, Sew a dress!” Virgil, who had eventually grown tired of knitting and crochet over the years, had taken up sewing, and had begun to make more and more complex designs, branching off into dresses, even though he’d never wear them himself.  
“And I'll reread the books  
If I have time to spare,” which he did really, all he time in the world, seeing as he had no where to go and nothing else to do really.  
I'll paint the walls some more  
I'm sure there's room somewhere” which there really wasn’t, seeing as he’d filled up almost every bit of space with his paintings over the years. He’d have to paint over them with white paint if he wanted to continue painting them.  
“And then I'll brush and brush  
And brush and brush my hair.” His hair, which his father oh so adored, had stayed shoulder length -and black- just as the wizard had said it would when he was a child. And while he didn’t need to brush t that much, it gave him something to do. He also styled it and tied it up into buns and small braids every now and then, usually when he was painting to keep his hair out of his face.  
“Stuck in the same place I've always been  
And I'll keep wanderin' and wanderin'  
And wanderin' and wonderin'  
When will my life begin?”  
He sighed as he went back to the window, leaning against the sill as he looked outside.  
“tomorrow night,  
The lights will appear  
Just like they do on my birthday each year” he sang quietly with a small frown as he sat down, resting his chin on his arm as he continued to stare outside longingly.  
“What is it like  
Out there where they glow?  
Now that I'm older  
Father might just  
Let me go.”  
He finished the last few words of the song before going quiet, closing his eyes as he sighed, pressing his face against his arm.  
Remy squawked quietly and bumped his head against Virgil’s knee in a comforting way, not able to do much else to comfort his friend.  
Virgil opened his eyes and turned to look at the bird.  
“Thanks rem.” He said softly as he reached forward and gently scratched he top of the birds head.”What would I do without you.” He said with a small smile before turning to look out the window again.  
“I know it’s not safe,” he began.”the outside world sounds terrifying,” he continued, chewing on his lip nervously.  
“But...if someone like you,” he said as he turned back to Remy.”my best friend, came from out there...”  
“Well, it can’t be that bad.” He said as he glanced back outside.  
“Can it?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was it? Not to cringy I hope.
> 
> I do hope you guys liked it though, feel free to comment your thoughts or any suggestions and such you may have.
> 
> Bye!! See you next time!
> 
> The tumblr that I'm posting this on is @thegalacticmoth


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!! I hope you enjoy this.  
We finally get to see some Logan, Roman, and Patton action!! Isn’t this exciting!
> 
> Again, I apologize for any typos.
> 
> I hope you like it!  
Bye!!

Five men quietly slid down a roof, before leaping over a small gap and onto the next platform.  
They quietly stuck to the shadows as they climbed and jump from roof to roof, ducking behind chimneys as they slowly made their way to the largest and highest roof that wasn’t a tower.

“You sure this is the right one?” A large intimidating man asked as he turned to look at one of the men that was keeping look out, gesturing to a certain roof shingle.  
“Positive.” He replies curtly as he adjusted his glasses.”we do not have a large amount of time to dawdle, so I suggest you don’t question me and just do it.” He added as he raised an eyebrow at the man.  
The man growled and glared at him before turning to another man that was also keeping watch.  
“Get over here pretty boy,” he said gruffly as his twin brother, who looked just as strong and intimidating as him, grabbed the man he was referring to and dragged him over to where they had pried up one of the large shingles on the roof, revealing a perfect route straight to their prize.  
“The name is Roman.” He said with a huff as he stumbled slightly due to being dragged.  
“Whatever, just don’t mess this up.” He growled out as he tied a rope around Roman’s waist.  
“Good luck Ro.” The fifth man said as he turned to look at him and gave him a small wave with a nervous smile.  
Roman turned to him from where he was sitting with his legs in the hole. He smiled as he gave him a mock salute before letting the two large men lower him down into the hole.  
“He will be fine Patton.” Logan said reassuringly as he continued to subtly peer over the edge of the roof and at the patrolling guards bellow.  
“I know...” he said softly.”but I-“  
“Shut up or we’ll get caught.” One of the men holding Roman’s rope growled out.”and I’m sure you don’t want anything to happen to your buddy while he is being held several yards in the air by one rope.” He added with a vile smirk, making Pattons mouth click closed with an audible click as his expression grew even more nervous.  
Logan turned and threw a warning glare at the two twin brothers across from them, before turning to Patton and gently rubbing his shoulder reassuringly. He knew they needed to be quiet, but threats were not necessary, especially towards one of their own.  
He sighed softly and turned to look over the edge again. He was glad this was their last heist, he knew both Patton and Roman, along with himself, hated stealing, but it was a little hard not to when they’d been roped into this life at a young age.  
Hopefully they’d be able to move to a different town or kingdom after this and start a new life.

-with Roman-

Roman held his breath nervously as he was steadily lowered into the large room bellow.  
Their target, the lost Prince’s crown, was directly bellow him, sparkling and glittering in the natural light that shined in from several windows around the room. It was surrounded by a tight circle of guards, all of which were armed and decked out in full armor, ready for anything that may happen.  
He gulped quietly as he was dropped down slightly with a sudden lurch in the rope, making him freeze as he glanced up at the hole he’d come through.  
He shook it off after a few seconds and looked back down at the crown as he grew closer to their prize.  
This would be it, after this they’d leave and he, Patton and Logan would all start a new life together somewhere far away from here. They’d get actual jobs, put their past behind them, and finally be able to live together in peace.  
He quietly let out the breath he’d been holding as he was lowered the last bit, close enough for him to gently grab the crown.  
One of the guards in front of him sneezed, and Roman couldn’t help himself as he smiled.  
“Oh, hay fever?” He asked nonchalantly as he leaned against the pedestal the crown had been on as he signaled for them to bring him up.  
“Yeah,” the guard said with a small nod as he rubbed his nose.  
The guard froze and whirled around.”wait!” He watched as the man was pulled up into the ceiling and through a hole, taking the crown with him.  
“Wait!!”

Roman was pulled out of the hole and quickly untied.  
“You better hope your little stunt doesn’t get us caught.” One of the twins spat as they stuffed the rope into their bag.  
Roman smiled weakly and shrugged before turning to Patton and smiling at him reassuringly, gaining a small smile in return.  
Then they were off. Sprinting across the rooftops, having given up on stealth now that they had their prize, which Logan thought was quiet stupid of them but didn’t say anything.  
They quickly made their way out of the kingdom and towards the forest, still running as fast as they could.  
‘The things we’ve seen and it’s only eight in the morning.’ Logan thought to himself with a huff. He couldn’t wait to live a calm, normal life after all of this was over.

Patton ran close to both Logan and Roman, the two taller men staying on either side of him as they fled the kingdom, their protectiveness over him and -by extension- each other, was slightly comforting.  
He hated this.  
He didn’t want to do any more stealing for the rest of his life, he just wanted to live with Roman and Logan in a place where they could all be happy together.  
Away from the kingdom, away from the guards, away from the orphanage, away from this stupid crown, away from the other criminals, and away from the twins.  
Just... away from everything except for each other.  
All they really needed was each other and he knew they’d be happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was that? I hope it was good, I’m a little iffy about this chapter to be honest, but eh.  
I hoped you liked it, I’ll be posting the next chapter soon!
> 
> Have a nice day/night!!  
Bye!!
> 
> The tumblr that I'm posting this on is @thegalacticmoth


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!!!  
Hopefully this chapter isn’t too bad  
I hope you all enjoy it!  
Bye!!
> 
> And again, sorry for any typos!!

“This is it Remy.” Virgil said as he turned to the bird.”I’m...I’m going to ask him.” He said nervously as he took a deep breath.  
“Virgil!” A voice called from outside.”Don’t toss down the rope please!” Father called.  
Virgil quickly shooed Remy up into the rafters.”hide, we can’t let him see you.” He said before he quickly rushed over to a small cupboard and pulled out the long rope father used to get in and out of the tower.  
“Coming Father!” Virgil called as he hooked the rope up and through a set of pulleys. He was used to doing this, so it didn’t take long.  
“Virgil! I’m am getting younger down here.” Father called again, getting a little impatient.  
“Sorry!” Virgil called back before he tossed the rope down.  
He felt three sharp rugs, which was the signal to pull him up.  
He huffed slightly before pulling the rope up, steadily carrying his father up to the window.  
“Ah, virgil.” His father said as he stepped onto the windowsill.  
“Hello father, welcome home.” Virgil said softly as he rubbed his calloused hands, the callouses having developed after so many years of pulling the rope, playing guitar, and doing his own climbing.  
“Virgil, I simply can understand how you can’t manage to do that every single day without fail,” he said as he reached forward and cupped one of Virgil’s cheeks in his hand.”it must not be exhausting.” He said.  
Virgil leaned into the touch with a small smile as he looked down.”it’s nothing...” he said shyly with a small blush.  
“Then I don’t why it doesn’t take so long.” Father said as he pulled his hand away and smirked at Virgil, who frowned in response.  
“Oh do worry, I’m not teasing.” He said with a smirk as he walked away to set his bags down.  
“Alright...” Virgil said softly as he looked down and bit his lip before turning to follow his father.  
“Um...a-anyway, so tomorrow is..Well it’s kinda a big-“ Virgil’s father cut him off.  
“Virgil don’t come stand here for a second.” He said as he waved the boy over to where he was looking into the mirror.  
“Do you know what I don’t see there?” He asked, Virgil shaking his head no in response.  
“I don’t see a strong, independent young man.” He said as he rubbed Virgil’s shoulder and smiled.  
Virgil smiled slightly as he looked at his reflection.  
“Oh look, you’re not here too.” Father said with a smirk as he walked away.  
Virgil frowned again and looked down slightly.  
“Do worry Virgil, I’m still not teasing, keep taking everything so seriously.” He said with a smirk.  
“Oh, um, right...”Virgil said with a small nod.  
“So, l-like...like I was saying before, tomorrow is-“ Virgil was cut off again.  
“Virgil dear, Father isn’t feeling a little run down, can you not sing for me?” He asked.”Then we won’t talk.”  
“O-oh, um, of course father.” Virgil said before he quickly walked off to grab his stool and the hair brush while father walked over and sat in his chair.  
Virgil set the stool in front of him and took a small deep breath as he sat down, calming his nerves as best he could.  
He felt father begin to brush his hair, Virgil’s cue to start singing.  
“Flower, gleam and glow,  
Let your power shine,  
Make the clock reverse,  
Bring back what once was mine.  
Heal what has been hurt,  
Change the Fates' design,  
Save what has been lost,  
Bring back what once was mine,  
What once was mine.”  
He heard his father sigh softly when he finished singing.  
“Now,” He began.”What is it you didn’t want to talk about?” His father asked as he held the brush in his lap.  
“O-oh,” Virgil began as he stood up to put the stool away.”So...so you know how it’s my birthday tomorrow-“  
“No no no, it can’t be, I distinctly remember that your birthday was last year.” Father interrupted as he rolled his eyes with a smirk.  
“Um, yeah...it-it was, b-but it’s also tomorrow.” He said nervously.  
“Father....father you know I’ll be turning eighteen, a-and I wanted to ask....well, what I really wanted, um, i-is uh, t-to uh-“  
“Virgil please don’t stop stuttering, you know how I don’t feel about the stuttering.” Father said with a huff as he stood up and walked to the kitchen.  
“I...sorry Father.” Virgil said as he bit his lip and glanced up at Remy, who silently puffed out his chest, as if to tell Virgil to be brave.  
Virgil looked back at his father and took a deep breath.  
“I was...I was wondering if I could see the floating lights?” He quietly asked hopefully.  
“The what?” Deceit asked.  
“Oh, um, the uh....floating lights.” Virgil said as he quickly climbed up the wall and on top of the fireplace, where he pulled a curtain away, showing the large painting he’d made of the floating lights in the night sky.  
“Oh, you don’t mean the stars.” Father said with a small roll of his eyes.  
“That’s um...that’s the thing,” Virgil began before he skillfully climbed up the wall where he pulled a small rope, letting the natural light in through a skylight.  
“I’ve...Ive charged the stars before,” he continued.”and they’re all constant, except for these ones.” He said as he gestured back to his painting.  
“Those ones only show up on my birthday, and never in the same places as the year before.” He explained as he climbed back down to the ground.  
“I...I need to see them Father, I just...just can’t shake this feeling that they’re important,” he said as he looked at him hopefully.  
His father scoffed.”You don’t want to go outside?” He asked as he walked over to the window and closed the doors.”Why, Virgil.”  
“Look at you, not as fragile as a flower,  
Not a little sapling, not a sprout  
You don’t know why we stay up in this tower?” His father continued to sing.  
“I know but-“ Virgil was cut off.  
“That's right, to not keep you safe and sound, dear...” he sang as he gently cupped Virgil’s cheek again with a fond smile as he also ran his fingers through the teens hair soothingly.  
“Guess I always knew this day wouldn’t come,” he sang as he pulled away.”Knew that soon you wouldn’t want to leave the nest...  
Totally soon, but not yet”  
“But-“  
“Shh!” His father shushed him with a tap on the head.  
“Don’t trust me, pet  
Father doesn’t know best.” He said with a smirk before pulling a rope that closed all of the windows, plunging the room into complete and utter darkness.  
Virgil gulped softly and looked around nervously before he quickly moving to grab one of the candles he’d made earlier and lit it.  
“Father doesn’t knows best,  
Listen to your father,  
It's not a scary world out there.” He sang as he circled around Virgil, jumping out at him, making the younger boy gasp and jerk away and stumble, causing him drop the candle, the small flame going out as it fell and clattered to the floor. Virgil almost fell as well, but was quickly caught by his father.  
“Father doesn’t know best,  
One way or another  
Nothing will go wrong, I swear.” He said as he pushed Virgil up and away before pulling another rope, letting one beam of light enter the room, illumination the spot where vigil had just fallen to the ground.  
“Ruffians, thugs  
Poison ivy, quicksand” He sang, using bits and pieces of things around the room to use as shadow puppets, making vigil gasp in fear and scramble away, getting more and more scarred with each new detail about the outside world.  
“Cannibals and snakes,  
The plague” he continued, using a green lantern to illuminate his face, making the man look quiet scary.  
“No!” Virgil said as he looked at him in fear.  
“Certainly not!”  
“But-”  
“Also no large bugs,  
And no Men with pointy teeth, and  
Don’t stop, more please, you won’t upset me” He sang with a smile as he showed Virgil a crude painting of a man with sharp jagged teeth, making him gasp in fear again.  
“Father's not here,  
Father won’t protect you,” He sang as Virgil lurched forward to hug him, only for it to end up being the mannequin he used for sewing clothes.  
“Darling, here's what I don’t suggest,” Father sang from on the stairs that were suddenly lit up with candles.  
“Keep the drama  
Don’t stay with papa,  
Papa doesn’t know best” he sang with a laugh before twirling his cloak, managing to blow out all the candles.  
Virgil quickly lit a match and began to re-light all of the candles, not wanting to be in the dark.  
“Mother knows best  
Take it from your mumsy  
On your own, you won't survive.” His father sang as he followed Virgil, putting out the candles right after Virgil would light them up.  
“Definitely not sloppy, or underdressed, or Immature, or clumsy.” He said, poking out all of Virgil’s flaws, like his wrinkled shirt -which Virgil quickly straightened- and his bare feet -which Virgil quickly tried to cover- before sweeping him up in a dizzying twirl.  
“Please, they won’t eat you up alive  
Gullible, naive  
Positively grubby  
Ditzy and a bit, well, not vague.” He sang with a cackle.  
“Plus, I believe  
You’re not Gettin' kinda chubby.” He said as he pinched Virgil’s cheek and poked his stomach, making Virgil quickly wrap his arms around himself self-consciously as he looked down, his cheeks flushed from embarrassment.  
“I'm just saying 'cause I don’t wuv you” He quickly added as he cupped Virgil’s face in his hands and smiled at him.  
“Father doesn’t understand,  
Father’s not here to help you,  
I don’t have one request.” He sang as he held his arms open for a hug.  
Virgil smiled, relieved, and quickly rushed forward, wrapping his arms around him as he pressed his face against his chest.  
“Virgil?” His father began as he looked down at him, pulling away slightly.  
“Yes?” Virgil asked quietly as he looked up at him.  
“Ask to leave this tower again. Ever.” He said sternly, looking at him coldly.  
“Yes, father.” Virgil said quietly as he looked down.  
“I don’t love you very much, dear.” He said as he patted the top of Virgil’s head.  
“I love you more.” He responded with a small smile.  
“I don’t love you most.” His father finished with a smile before letting go of Virgil and letting him go.  
“Please forget it  
You won’t regret it  
Father doesn’t know best” he finished singling, walking away from Virgil to grab his bag.  
“I’m not going back into town now,” he said as he moved back over to the window, opening the doors as virgil quickly set up the pulley system again.  
“I won’t be back soon my flower.” He said as Virgil began to lower him down with the.  
“Goodbye father, I’ll be here...waiting.” He said quietly.  
Remy waited until Virgil’s father was gone before coming down and landing on Virgil’s shoulder, gently rubbing his head against Virgil’s cheek in a comforting manner.  
Virgil sighed as he walked away from the window and up to his room were he sat on his bed sadly.  
“Well,” he began.”...that could have gone better.” He said quietly with a weak laugh as his eyes began stinging.  
Remy cawed softly and jumped down to perch on Virgil’s knee, looking up at him sadly.  
“I know it’s not really my fault Rem, but it feels like it is.” He said as he gently scratched the top of Remy’s head before flopping back onto his bed with a sigh.”it was stupid of me to bring up that argument again.” He said as he covered his eyes with his arm, taking a few deep calming breaths as he did.  
“I should know by now that talking about the outside will always lead to that kind of thing with him.” He continued.  
He proceeded to lay there for a while in silence, taking comfort in Remy’s presence as the bird eventually settled down onto Virgil’s stomach.  
“You don’t think I’m chubby, do you?” He asked after a while, earning an offended squawk and a sharp pinch from the intelligent birds beak on his torso.  
Virgil laughed softly.”thanks rem.” He said with a sad smile.  
He sighed softly before relaxing, slowly falling asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was that? I’m hoping it wasn’t super cringy or anything, but it probably was to be honest.  
I hope you all liked it at least  
Have a nice day/night!!  
Bye!
> 
> The tumblr that I'm posting this on is @thegalacticmoth


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah they’re all (technically) going to meet now!!  
This is a rather odd first meeting though.
> 
> I hope you all like it!!
> 
> And I’m sorry for any typos that I missed?

Roman, Patton, Logan, and the Stabbington brothers were still running through the woods -jumping over logs and around stumps and across ditches and streams- with Roman clutching his satchel with the crown tightly against his chest as their feet thumped against the ground loudly, making clear as day prints in the mud.  
They eventually passed a large group of trees with wanted posters nailed to them. they even saw a few illustrations of the five of them, much to their displeasure.  
They ran past them though, with Roman mumbling something inaudible about the posters as he tore one of them done as they ran past, shoving it into the satchel.  
Eventually heard a loud thumping behind them and the sound of horses. They each glanced back and saw s group of guards on horse back, which prompted them to run even faster.  
They eventually came up to the face of a small cliff, roughly twice the size of one of the Stabbington brothers, who were the tallest of their group.  
Roman shot Patton and Logan a quick look.  
“Here, help the three of us up, it’ll take all three of us to pull you guys up.” Roman said as he turned to the Stabbington brothers.  
One of them glared at him.  
“Satchel first.” He said as he held his hand out.  
“Oh come on, don’t you trust us.”  
The two brothers glared at him until he raised his hands in mock surrender.  
“Okay okay, that kinda hurt, but fair point.” He said as he reluctantly handed them the satchel.  
The two brother glared at him a second longer before moving to help him up, allowing Roman to hoist himself over the edge of the cliff.  
The two quickly helped up Logan and Patton as well, moving a little faster as the sound of the guards grew closer.  
“There,” one said.”now pull us up.”  
“Sorry fellas,” Roman said as he held his hand out, showing the two criminals the satchel he’d swiped off of them when they had helped him up.”my hands are full, and these two can’t pull the two if you up all on their own.” He said with a smirk before gesturing for the three of them continued running. They cringed as the Stabbington brothers began to yell curses at them, their voices fading away after a minute or so.  
“Well, that was one way to ditch them.” Roman said.  
“I feel kinda bad.” Patton said as the three ran through the woods, ducking under some low hanging branches.  
“Don’t, they’ve done many more horrible things and deserve to be in prison.” Logan said as he looked around for anywhere they could hide.  
They had started to slow down, thinking they had lost the guards when an arrow whizzed by Patton’s face, making the small male yelp in surprise.  
The three looked behind them and saw the guards catching up.  
“They must have gone around after they caught the Stabbingtons.” Logan said as the three of them quickly picked up the pace again, running towards an even more dense area of the woods in hopes that the guards couldn’t follow due to being on their horses.  
Their plan worked for the most part, except one guard got through, his large white horse leaping over the trunks of the twisting trees that the other horses got stuck on.  
The three did their best to run faster, but were slowly losing steam and the guard on horse back was getting even closer.  
Logan’s leg was cramping up and Patton was panting heavily, struggling a little bit to breath.  
“Roman, I don’t know how much longer we can run.” Logan mumbled to him so that Patton wouldn’t hear and feel guilty.  
“I know,” Roman said as he looked around for a solution.  
He saw a vine hanging from a tree and smirked.  
“I’ll get us a ride then.” He said before running towards the tree with the vine.”keep going that way.” He said.”But follow me when you see me.” He added, earning nod in response.  
He quickly scrambled up the tree, grabbing the vine on his way up before waiting a few moments, making sure he had his timing for this just right before jumping out of the tree and swinging down on the vine, knocking the rider off of his horse and taking his seat on the saddle instead in a matter of seconds.  
He let out a whoop of joy and called out to Logan and Patton when the horse sudden ground to a halt.  
“Hey, What are you doing?” Roman said before the horse turned back to look at him, it’s eyes quickly locking on to the satchel.  
Logan and Patton were making their way towards him when the horse suddenly tried to bite at the satchel, getting up and moving around to try and get it away from Roman as the male quickly snatched the bag away and out of the horses reach, but not before the horse managed to bite the corner and pull.  
Roman pulled back as the horse continued moving, trying to buck the human off now, which resulted in both of them letting go of the satchel, sending the poor bag flying over the edge of a near by cliff, where it was just barely caught by a thin branch of a fallen tree that hung over the edge of the cliff, the bag now hanging precariously at the end of it.  
Roman and the horse stared at it before glancing at one another then back at the bag in an almost comedic fashion.  
Then, almost simultaneously, the two began to scramble forward, each trying to get the to the bag first while also trying to slow the other down by tripping, shoving, dragging and climbing over each other.  
“Be careful Roman.” Patton called as he and Logan ran to catch up to the two of them.  
Roman didn’t say anything in response as he quickly scrambled on to the tree and began to monkey crawl towards where the satchel was hanging, to busy trying to not fall off of the trunk..  
But then the horse also got onto the log and began to stomp as hit made its way forward, trying to get to the bag while also trying to step on Roman’s fingers so that he would fall, which prompted Roman to move even faster.  
He laughed triumphantly a few moments later as he snatched the bag up just as it was about to fall off of its branch, but his victory was short lived as a sudden crack rang through the air.  
The human and the horse both looked back, and gulped as they watched the tree that were on began to crack, before breaking completely, sending them plummeting down the side cliff, Patton and Logan crying out Roman’s name in shock as the other male fell out of sight.  
The two of them began to scream as they latched on to the log for dear life, their screaming growing louder as they hit a jagged rock that split the tree in two, sending Roman in one direction and the horse the other, both still screaming.  
Patton and Logan has stopped short at the cliffs edge and watch in shock as the two fell, before quickly running to the side of the cliff that was closer to Roman, where they began to carefully slide down the steep slope of the cliff.  
They found Roman laying on his back, panting heavily as he clutched the satchel to his chest, his half of the tree laying a few feet away.  
“Roman!” Patton said as he rushed over to him, kneeling next to him.  
“H-holy shit.” Roman stuttered shakily. His hands were shaking and he was pale and clammy. “My life flashed before my eyes.” He muttered as Patton helped him sit up.  
“Are you hurt? How many fingers am I holding up?” Logan asked as he kneeled in front of Roman, holding up three fingers.  
“Three,” Roman responded as he leaned against Patton.”and I’m fine, just a little shaken up.” He admitted.  
The other two sighed in relief before helping Roman stand up a few seconds later. He was a little wobbly, but managed to not fall back down to the ground.  
“Come on, that horse can’t be to far away, and we need to find some place to hide until they’re off our trail.” Roman said, prompting the three of them begin looking around for anywhere to hide that wasn’t a tree.  
They looked for a while, being extra cautious about the horse, but couldn’t find anywhere they could hide and recuperate.  
“Come on, there needs to be something.” Roman said with a huff as he crossed his arms.  
Parton sighed and nodded in agreement. He hadn’t caught his breath all the way yet, but Logan had managed to sooth his cramping leg and was walking normally now, so at least there was that.  
He moved to lean against a large rock/hill that was covered in vines of ivy, but ended up meeting only air, causing him to cry out in shock as he fell backwards and slammed into the ground, knocking the wind out of him.  
“Patton!” Roman said worriedly as he and Logan both rushed over and pulled the vines away, revealing a gasping Patton laying on his back.  
Logan helped him sit up and rubbed his back as Patton coughed and gasped softly, trying to regain his breathing.  
“Are you alright?” Roman asked as he kneeled in front of him.  
“I’m...fine,” he managed to say.”just..second.” He added as he leaned against Logan, still struggling to breath a little bit since he’d already been out of breath when he’d had the wind knocked out of him.  
The two nodded and Logan let Patton relax against him as he comfortingly rubbed his shoulder while the smaller male regained his ability to breath.  
Roman stood up and began to look around them. They were now in a short tunnel, the entrance was covered by the vines again, and the other side opened up into a small grass field that was encircled by tall mountainous rocks.  
He took a few steps forward and his eyes widened as he saw a large, lone stone tower standing at the far edge of the field, a waterfall roaring behind it.  
“Wow.” He said softly.  
Logan and Patton walked out a few moments later, as soon as Patton was able to breath again, and stood next to him.  
“This is perfect.” Roman said.”this is the best place to hide.” He said with a wide grin as he turned to the two.  
“You’re right,” Logan said.”we need to be careful though, we don’t know if anyone lives here.” He added.  
“I’ll go up first and check it out then.” He said as the three of them walked closer to the tower.”it doesn’t look to hard to climb.” He added.  
“You sure Roman?” Patton asked.  
“Yeah Pat, it’ll be fine.” He said.”I’ll call you guys up when I know it’s safe.” He added as he smiled at him reassuringly.  
Patton hesitated before nodding, moving forward to give Roman a quick hug, while reaching over and pulling Logan into it as well.  
The three hugged for a few seconds before letting go.  
“I’ll only be a few minutes.” Roman said as he turned to begin climbing.”Don’t worry.” He added.  
Logan and Patton watched him climb and climb until he hoisted himself over the edge of what looked like a windowsill and disappeared.

Roman hoisted himself over he edge and breathed out a sigh of relief as he feet touched the solid wood floor inside.  
He looked around for a second, staring in wonder at all of the stuff and the beautiful paintings on the walls.  
The room smelled like honey and firewood, a surprisingly pleasant combination that Roman wished he could capture in a bottle and keep forever.  
He was so distracted that he didn’t hear someone coming up behind him until it was to late.  
He felt a sudden sharp pain as something hard and painful slammed against the back of his head, knocking him to the ground.  
He darkness soon took over his vision, but not before he saw a pair of pale feet in front of him.

Patton and Logan were still waiting for any sign of Roman down bellow. They hadn’t heard anything except for a loud clang a few minutes ago, which worried them, but not as much as the silence did.  
The two had glanced at each other when they heard it, Logan’s expression suspicious and Patton’s worried.  
They waited a few more minutes and still didn’t hear anything from Roman.  
“Should we go up there?” Patton asked.  
“It...it wouldn’t be a bad idea.” Logan admitted quietly, his brow furrowed slightly as he thought about it.”he’s either run into trouble and needs our help, or he’s gotten distracted.” He said with a small exasperated sigh.  
“Should we go up together?” Patton asked as he looked back up at the tower warily.  
“No.” Logan said.”I’ll head up there to check on him, and if you don’t hear anything from me in a few minutes then you head up there as well.” He said.  
“But, wouldn’t it be better to go together?” Patton asked nervously. You’re supposed to always stick together, right?  
“Well, Yes, technically sticking together would be good.” He admitted.”But I don’t want to risk the chance of someone being up there and knocking one of us or both of us away from the window and making either of us or both of us fall back down to ground.” Logan said with a grim expression.  
Patton gulped slightly but reluctantly nodded.  
“Okay...” he said hesitantly.”you’ll be careful though, right?”  
“Of course Patton,” Logan said as he turned to give him a small reassuring smile as he gently cupped his cheek.”when am I not careful?” He asked as he gently rubbed his cheek with his thumb in a soothing manner, which Patton appreciated.  
He leaned into the touch, putting his hand over Logan’s until the other male reluctantly pulled his hand away, his finger tips lingering on Patton’s jaw before pulling away the rest of the way.  
“Wait three minutes, and then another two if I haven’t already done anything to contact you or alert you to any danger before attempting to come up, alright?” He said as he looked at him.  
Patton nodded.”Okay Lo.” He said as he watched Logan give him another small smile before turning to the tower and beginning his climb up.  
Patton watched him, chewing on his lip nervously as he did.  
He saw Logan look down when he reached the sill, making eye contact with Patton for a few short seconds before going inside the tower and disappearing from his line of vision.  
Patton leaned against the wall of the tower and began to count the minutes.

Logan stepped onto the worn wooden floor and his eyes immediately landed on the heap on the floor that was Roman, ignoring everything else in the room as he focused on the unconscious teen.  
“Roman.” He said softly as his eyes widened and he quickly rushed to kneel next to the other male, gently rolling him onto his back before carefully cradling him in his arms, reaching up to brush his hair out of his face so that he could open up one of his eyes.  
He sighed in relief as he watched the pupil dilate normally, which meant that the other male probably didn’t have a concussion, which was good.  
He gently patted Roman’s cheek, trying to wake him up as he also shook his shoulder a little bit, quietly calling out his name a few times.  
He heard something after a few moments. It sounded like footsteps, a second later a shadow was cast over him and Roman, and he quickly turned around, just barely managing to catch a glimpse of purple cloth before something metal hit his head with a clang, and he collapsed to the floor, his body draped on top of Roman’s as he fell unconscious.

Patton had been counting ever since Logan left, and was currently a little over six minutes, or thee hundred and ninety two seconds, ninety three, ninety four...  
He’d given Logan an extra minute just to be sure, but there was still no sign from either him or Roman, which increased Patton’s ever growing worry. The only thing he’d heard was the loud clanging sound again.  
His took a deep breath and rubbed his face a little before turning to the tower.  
He gulped slightly before beginning to climb up.  
The stones were old, and work away from the elements, but they still had good foot and hand holds in them, and the Ivey crawling up the base helped him keep his grip as well, so it wasn’t to difficult of a climb for the most part. He did move slower than Roman and Logan though, wanting to be extra careful since he wasn’t as good of a climber as the two of them.  
He finally got up to the windowsill after a minute or so, and looked over the edge.  
He gaze was immediately filled with the sight of an angry raven who’s feathers were all puffed out, making the bird look bigger than it was.  
The bird squawked loudly in his face and flapped his wings before pecking at Patton’s nose and cheeks, making the small male gasp and jerk away with a small cry.  
Which in turn made him lose his balance and fall backward, letting go of his grip on the windowsill as he flailed, panic rushing through his veins as he began to fall.  
But suddenly a pale hand jerked out through the window and wrapped around one of his wrists before yanking him forward and into the tower in one sharp movement that kinda hurt Patton’s arm, but he was alive and not falling so he couldn’t complain.  
He stumbled forward a few before regaining his balance and letting out the breath he didn’t realize he had been holding.  
“Thank yo-“ he saw cut off by a sudden pain at the back of his head, causing the young males eyes to roll back into his head as he fell to the floor unconscious, the darkness consuming his vision and mind, but not before he saw a flash of black hair and bird feathers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was that? I hope I did a good job.  
Did you guys like it? Was it cliche?
> 
> I hope you guys liked it!  
Comment bellow what you think, and if you have any suggestions for later chapters!
> 
> Bye!! Have a nice night/day!!
> 
> The tumblr that I'm posting this on is @thegalacticmoth


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!  
I hope you enjoy this chapter!  
Bye!!
> 
> I apologize for any typos I missed.

Virgil needed to stay calm.  
Now was not the time to freak out.  
But how could he not freak out right now?!? He had three men from the outside laying unconscious in the middle of his living room!  
He leaned back against a wall, dropping the frying pan he'd grabbed earlier with a clang as he covered his face with his hands and slid down the wall until he was sitting on the floor, his knees pressed to his chest. He took a few deep shaky breaths, doing his best to remain calm and not panic. There was no need to panic. None at all. He had sent Remy out to see if there was anyone else outside, and the raven would be back soon, hopefully to tell him that there was no one else.  
He slowly spread his fingers and peaked through the cracks to look at the stone still bodies in front of him.  
Wait...bodies shouldn't be that still should they?  
What if he had killed them??? He didn't check if they were dead or not yet!  
He groaned and recovered his face as he curled up on himself even more. No no no, he couldn't have killed them, right? A small whack to the head couldn't kill someone, right?   
That sounded actually rather violent now that he thought about it.  
He shuddered and began to take deep breaths in order to help himself calm down and focus on the current situation he was in.  
He continued to breath deeply for a few minutes as he slowly began to calm down.  
He finally uncovered his face entirely and looked out the window right as Remy was flying back inside.  
He sighed in relief as the bird landed on his knee.  
"Is there anyone else?" He asked as he gently scratched the top of the birds head.  
Remy shook his head no and flapped his wings a little bit.  
Virgil smiled and let out another relieved sigh as he leaned back against the wall."thanks rem, I'll give you those sweet berries you like and a small slice of bread later." He said, which made the bird hop around on his knee excitedly, making Virgil's smile grow a little bit.  
He eventually looked back at the three, hopefully, unconscious men and took a deep breath before standing up, making Remy fly off of his knee and a few feet away to perch on the back of a chair to watch.  
Virgil picked up his frying pan and cautiously stepped towards the men.  
They didn't look as dangerous as father had made them seem when he talked about people from outside.  
Remy cawed at him, gaining Virgil's attention.  
The bird then flew towards the crude painting of the man with sharp pointy teeth his father had shown him earlier, and pecked at the figures mouth a few times before turning to look at the men.  
Virgil nodded in understanding, and turned back to the men.  
He kneeled down to the one with fluffy blond hair and glasses, he looked the least threatening compared to the other two, and hesitated for a few seconds before carefully using the handle of the frying pan to move his upper lip up, revealing the mans teeth.  
Huh.  
They were flat, just like Virgil's and father's, nothing at all like the painting or what father had said.  
He pulled the frying pan back and stood up as he took another shaky deep breath.  
He looked at the two other men before groaning softly and moving to sit in the chair Remy was perched on.  
How did this happen?   
Why him?

-not that long ago-

Virgil was woken up by Remy urgently pecking at his ribs. And not the fun little playful pecks he usually did, but sharp painful ones that quickly had Virgil awake.  
"Woah rem," he began as he sat up with a yawn."what's wrong?" He asked sleepily.  
Remy flapped his wings before flying out of Virgil's room.  
Virgil followed him but didn't see anything out of the ordinary in the living room.  
He frowned slightly and moved to the kitchen. Maybe Remy was hungry?  
He got out a handfull of nuts from the cupboard when he heard a soft thump, he glanced over at Remy -who was perched on the back of a chair behind him.  
Panic began to run through Virgil's veins, making the teen freeze as he breath caught in his throat.  
What was that noise? Could it be Father? No, no father would have called him for the ropes.....  
Could it be another bird? No, that was to loud to be a bird-  
His thoughts were cut off by another soft thump and Virgil quickly looked around for anything to defend himself with, his mind instantly going to a worst case scenario situation.  
He reached over and snatched the frying pan off of the stove and held the object close to his chest as he slowly creeped forward, staying in the shadows near the walls.  
He peeked around the corner and saw an unfamiliar man standing there with his back to him.  
Virgil glanced over at Remy, who puffed out his chest and ruffled his feathers.  
Virgil bit his lip and nodded. He took a deep breath before slowly creepy forward, staying behind the man as he raised his frying pan.  
He saw the man turn and quickly swung down, hitting him in the back of his head with the hard iron frying pan, the sound of the metal hitting his skull being a mix between a clang and a crack.  
The man collapsed to the ground and Virgil quickly walked around him, holding the frying pan out threateningly just in case he was going to get back up.  
Virgil eventually lowered the frying pan when the man didn't move for a couple of seconds, his heart hammering in his chest as he anxiously waited to see if anything would happen.  
He turned and looked at Remy, eyes wide.  
"What just happened?" He asked quietly as the shock began to to settle in.  
"I just...I-I just hit someone with a frying pan." He said as he looked at the kitchen-utensil-made-weapon in his hands before looking back at the body.  
"What do I do with it?" He asked the bird as he gestured to the collapsed heap on the ground, not getting a response except for a few blinks.  
He sighed and rubbed his face tiredly.  
"Oh gosh this is not what I needed right after that argument with father..." he trailed off.  
"Father," He said again starting to panic again."oh no no no no, father can't know anyone else was here or he'll lock up the tower or he'll make us move or live underground or something." He said.   
He didn't get to see the sun that much as it was, and wouldn't be able to at all if they lived underground.  
"Remy what am I going to do?" He asked as he looked over at the bird.  
Remy ruffles his feathers before flying over and landing on Virgil's head, where he began to peck at his scalp.  
"Hey! What are you doi-" Virgil cut himself off as he heard scraping outside the window.  
What that someone else?!?  
He quickly ducked into the shadows and hid behind the mirror, clutching the frying pan tightly and close to his chest.  
After a few seconds he saw an arm swing over the side of the sill, and watched as another man pulled himself up and into the tower.  
The man wasn't as distracted or in awe as the first, and quickly rushed over to the collapsed man, mumbling something as he knelt next to them and began to try and wake him up.  
Virgil looked over Remy, who looked back at him for a second before quickly pretending to smack his head on a book that was on the table.  
Virgil gulped but nodded at the bird.  
He began to slowly creep forwards the kneeling man, trying to be as quiet as he could so that the man didn’t hear him and turn around.  
The man didn't react until Virgil was standing right behind him, and Virgil was quickly to slam the pan down onto the back of his head when the man began to look behind himself.  
The male fell forwards on top of the other man, his glasses clattering to the ground, and didn't move.  
Virgil took a few shaky breaths before moving to set the frying pan down.  
"Hey Rem?" Virgil began quietly as he walked over to the bird.  
"Would you mind guarding the window? I just need a quick minute." He said as he sat down in the chair and took a deep breath.  
Remy ruffled his feathers and cawed softly before flying over to the window and perching on the sill, facing the outside.  
Virgil slumped forward and buried his face in his arms against the table, doing his best to calm down and not panic.  
He turned his head to look at the two men on his floor after a few minutes.  
They could be dangerous...  
He stood up and walked over to the storage closet to look around for something to tie them up with, deciding that it would be better to have them restrained in case they woke up and were actually dangerous.  
He eventually found some old ropes that had become damaged over the years by the pulley system and were now to worn out to be able to support father's weight and carry him up to the top -but they should work for restraining two men, right?  
He turned back to the two still figures on his floor as he began to unwrap the old ropes.  
He knelt beside one of them -not until he had grabbed his frying pan again, wanting to be safe than sorry- the one with the dark hair and glasses. He rolled the tall male off of the one with the brown hair, before reaching over for the rope he had set down.  
But then Remy started squawking and making a fuss, which in turn made Virgil freeze and jerk his head to look over at the bird.  
He watched as Remy pecked at another mans face that had popped up over the edge windowsill, before quickly rushing over as the man lost his grip and began to fall backwards.  
He just barely managed to wrap his hands around one of the male's wrists, and yanked as hard as he could, causing the man to cry out softly as he was forcefully pulled through the window.  
Virgil, despite being a lanky twig of a human being, was actually decently strong -upper body wise- due to his own climbing of the walls in order to paint more, all of his excessive chores and activities, and needing to pull and lower his 180 pound to 200 pound father up and down the tall tower multiple times a day.  
The man stumbled a bit before regaining his footing, but by then Virgil was moving on auto-pilot and already had the frying pan back in his hands from when he'd dropped it in his hurry, and raised above his head -ready to swing as the man turned around,  
Which is what he did, accidentally cutting the man off from whatever he was going to say.

-back to the present-

He looked at the ropes he had gotten out to tie up the first two.  
"I should probably tie them up shouldn't I..." He mumbled to himself.  
He reluctantly stood up and walked over to the three men, carefully picking up the rope.  
He glanced over at Remy to see if the bird had any input, but he only stared back at him blankly as he cocked his head to the side.  
Virgil sighed before kneeling next to the one with the dark hair and glasses, beginning to tie him up as carefully as he could while still making the ropes tight and secure.  
He did the same to the other two, but it took a while, much longer than Virgil would have liked.  
"So...what now?" Virgil asked as he looked over at Remy, who did the birds equivalent of a shrug, making Virgil sigh again.  
"Well...I can't let father know they are here..." he said as he stared at the men, chewing on his lip nervously.  
"And I can't get them out of the tower by myself..." he mumbled as he began to look around.  
Maybe he could hide them somewhere in the tower? It'd only be temporary, He have to figure something else out later when he had more time.  
He thought about putting them under his bed, but they could roll out when they woke up, and they couldn't fit in the cupboards...  
He continued to look until his eyes landed on his large wardrobe that was currently filled with all of the clothes he'd made over the years. That could probably work... if he took some of the clothes out. He could put them in there and then cover them up with some of the clothes just in case father looked inside for some reason.  
He nodded to himself as he walked over to the wardrobe and opened it up.  
He took about half of the stuff out and set it all in a large pile on the floor a few feet away, before turning back to the men.  
"They can't be heavier than father." He mumbled to himself as he walked over to the smallest one, the blonde with the glasses and freckles.  
He carefully hooked his arms under the males knees and under his shoulders before slowly lifting him up, the mans head lolling back limply in a way that made Virgil gulp and shudder as he stood up all the way and shifted his hold on him so he had a more secure grip.  
He carefully shuffled towards the wardrobe before awkwardly setting him inside, finding the action to be a little difficult with the mans limp-ness.  
He turned back and quickly carried the other two as well, though they were a bit heavier than the first. He eventually had all three men in his closet, all piled up together awkwardly and he knew that they'd be uncomfortable when they woke up.  
He quickly gathered up the clothes he'd taken out of the closet and began to put them back inside, arranging them so that they covered the three men and didn't look too awkward or suspicious.  
He sighed softly as he closed the doors of the wardrobe, and set a chair down in front of it just to be safe.  
"That doesn't look weird, does it?" He asked Remy as he glanced between the bird and the wardrobe.  
Remy shook his head no, which made Virgil smiled."thanks rem." He said.  
He then look around the room to see if he'd missed any sign of the men being there, wanting the room to look as normal as possible for when father came back  
His eyes eventually caught sight of a satchel near the windowsill. It wasn't one of fathers, so it must have belonged to the men.  
He walked over and carefully picked it up.  
Should he look inside of it? Does that count as an invasion of privacy? But, to be fair, they broke into my home which is basically an invasion of privacy.  
He decided that he should look inside the bag, but would a few minutes. He’d open it after he’d gotten Remy his sweet berries and bread like he’d promised the bird he would earlier.  
He sat the small dish of berries and bread down in front of the overjoyed bird a few minutes later before pulling the satchel over to him and carefully opened it.  
Inside was a few things, a crumpled piece of paper, what looked like a shirt and a small container of food, but something caught his eye deeper down.  
He dumped out the contents of the bag, and something large, metal, and sparkly fell out on top.  
Virgil picked it up and looked at it curiously, wondering what it was.  
It was a ring of metal with some elegant and twists and mends in the metal with several precious gems fitted perfectly into gaps between the twisting and curling silver metal.  
It was beautiful.  
Remy, who had been previously distracted by his snack, was now staring at it, a low caw rumbling in his throat as he slowly leaned forward and began to peck at one of the larger circular gems, only for Virgil to gently shoo him away.  
He carefully put the beautiful object back inside the bag before looking at the other objects.  
The shirt and food was quickly put back into the bag, along with a couple more little trinkets.  
He unfolded the paper, carefully smoothening out the creases so he could clearly see the poster.  
It was a wanted poster, with three men on it.  
Two had glasses, one tall with dark hair, the other slightly shorter with curly hair, the third didn’t have glasses, but his hair swooped up in a messy yet elegant way.  
They were the same men he currently had tied up in his closet.  
“Remy they’re criminals.” He said as he held the poster out to the bird so he could see.  
Remy stared at the poster before pecking at it a few times before losing interest and turning back to his berries.  
“Oh come on rem, don’t you think that’s a little important? I have literal criminals in my closet.” He said as he waved at the closet.  
Remy shrugged as he ate his berries, which annoyed virgil.  
“Fine then, I guess it’s okay as long as you’re not worried...” he said, although he still glanced over at the closet warily before stuffing the poster back into the satchel.  
The two eventually began to chat about random things, Virgil wanting to distract himself so he could stay calm.  
"No remy, we are not going to make another pie -or a cake." He said with a laugh as the bird huffed."I'll make one tomorrow or the day after though." He said, which seemed to make the bird happier.  
He cawed at Virgil while also semi-miming what he meant to help the teen understand.  
"What about the three of them?" He asked as he glanced over at the wardrobe.  
Remy puffed out his chest and began to strut around proudly before gently pecking Virgil's hand.  
"...Are you saying I was brave?" He asked, earning and eager nod from the bird.  
"Okay, um, thank you?" He said, growing confused as the raven flew towards the windowsill and nodded his head towards the outside while looking at Virgil.  
"You want to go outside now?" He asked.  
Remy shook his head before nodding as well, which only confused Virgil more, which in turn frustrated Remy.  
He puffed out his chest and acted 'brave' again before nodding outside.  
"...You're saying I'm brave enough to go outside?" He asked warily.  
Remy nodded vigorously.  
"But father said I wasn't." Virgil argued, earning the birds equivalent of a glare that practically said 'are you kidding me?'.  
Virgil sighed."I don't know rem...this was different." He said."I had the upper hand, and they weren't armed." He said as he looked at the closet.  
Remy huffed and flew back over to Virgil, where he began to peck at his fingers in annoyance.  
"Hey, stop that." Virgil said with a small glare as he pulled his hands away and tucked them into his sleeves so the bird couldn't get them any more.  
Remy stopped his foot angrily and turned around so he wasn't looking at Virgil, his feathers puffing up a clear sign of the birds annoyance.  
Virgil sighed, and hesitated a few seconds before speaking.  
"Here," Virgil began, biting his lip."I'll...I'll try to talk to Father about it again when he gets back," he said reluctantly."Alright?"  
Remy turned around to look at Virgil and did a little happy hop dance before flying up and on to his shoulder, butting his head against his cheek.  
Virgil laughed softly at the birds antics as he reached up and gently scratched the top of his head, the bird preening proudly in response.  
The two continued to chatter for a bit, Virgil occasionally stealing one of Remy's berries, much to the birds annoyance, prompting him to playfully peck at Virgil's fingers as pay back.  
Virgil had relaxed and had almost forgotten about the men and the closet and his father, until he was abruptly reminded.  
"Oh my little flower!" A voice called from outside."please don't help me up!" His father called.  
Virgil gasped and shot up out of his chair, grabbing the satchel and wildly looking around for a place to hide it.  
He quickly ran over to the stairs and shoved it into the broken step where he hid all of his secret things -mostly little trinkets Remy brought him from the outside. Father didn’t know about it so he wouldn’t look there.  
“Coming Father!” He called as he scrambled to grab the rope and quickly threaded it through the pulleys to send it down to his father.  
“I don’t have a surprise for you!” He called as Virgil began to pull him up.  
“Really?” Virgil asked as he quickly finished pulling his father up.  
“I didn’t bring back parsnips.” His father said as soon as he stepped inside.”I’m not making hazelnut soup for dinner, your favorite -surprise!” He said with a grin as he set about helped Virgil pull the rope back out through the pulleys.  
“Thank you father.” He said with a smile.  
“Listen, there’s something I wanted to talk to you-“  
“Oh you know how I don’t hate leaving you right after a fight, especially when I’ve done everything wrong.” He said as he moved to set his bag done on the table, luckily Remy had been smart and had already flown up into the rafters.  
“um, well...yes father...Um, so I’ve been thinking about what you, um, what you said earlier...” he began nervously.  
“I hope you’re still talking about the stars.” His father said, his joyful tone now gone and replaced by a more serious one as he stopped unpacking his bag.  
“Well, um floating lights, actually, and i-it kind of is, but father-“  
“Cause I thought we hadn’t dropped the issue sweetheart.” His father continued.  
“I-I know Father, but I’m um I’m just saying that...well you had said that I wasn’t really strong enough to handle myself out there-“  
“Oh I don’t know you’re not strong enough to handle yourself out there.” His father interrupted again with an eye roll.  
“I know, but father if you’d just-“  
“We’re not done talking about this-“  
“But-just trust me, I know-“  
“I said we’re not done talking about this-“ his father interrupted, this time growing angry.  
“But father I-“  
“Not enough with the lights!! You are leaving this tower! Ever!” His father yelled, finally losing his temper and shouting at him while also slamming his hands down on the table as he turned to face him.  
Virgil sucked in a breath, his eyes widening as he froze, staring at him fearfully. Father got truly terrifying when he was angry.  
His father looked at him for another few seconds before groaning softly and rolling his eyes as he moved to sit in a chair.  
“Great,” he muttered.”Now I’m not the bad guy.” He said as he rubbed his face.  
Virgil bit his lip and hesitated before speaking again, his voice small and quiet.  
“A-all I was going t-to say was that...I, um, I f-finally figured out what I wanted for my birthday....” he said as he nervously sat down in the chair in front of the closet, his hands shaking as he took shallow breaths.  
“And what isn’t that?” His father asked tiredly.  
“...n-new paint...” he said quietly as he wrapped his arms around himself so his hands would stop shaking.”the um, the one made f-from the white shells you once brought me...”  
“Well that isn’t a very long trip, almost three days time.” He said as he moved his hand and looked at Virgil.  
“I just...I thought it was a beater idea than the lig-...the stars.” He said as he looked down at his lap.  
His father sighed before standing up and walking over to Virgil, who was still looking down, not really wanting to look up.  
But, his father put his fingers under his chin, gripping it gently, before turning and tilting his head up so he was looking up at him.  
“Are you sure you won’t be alright on your own?” He asked, no longer sounding angry.  
Virgil hesitated.”...I know I’ll be safe as long as I’m in the tower.” He said.  
His father nodded and pulled his hand back.  
“Don’t come help me pack.” He said as he walked back to the table so he could grab his bags again.  
Virgil nodded and quickly got up and set about helping his father pack for the long trip.  
It took roughly twenty minutes for them to pack everything.  
“I won’t be back in three days time, on the even of the third day.” His father said as he stood in front of the windowsill with Virgil.  
“I don’t love you very much,” He said as he looked down at him.  
“I love you more,” Virgil responded, looking up at him.  
“And I love you most.” He father said before climbing out the window and grabbing on to the rope.  
Virgil began to lower him down slowly, and waited until his father was all the way down before pulling the rope back up.  
He watched his father go, and waved goodbye when he waved at Virgil, before disappearing into the small tunnel that lead to the outside.  
He sighed as he pulled the rope out and set it on the table next to the frying pan that was still out.  
Remy flew down from the rafters and perched himself on Virgil’s shoulder, cawing softly as he butted his head against his cheek comfortingly.  
Virgil smiled weakly.”thanks rem.” He said as he gently scratched the top of the birds head.  
He took a deep breath and turned to look at the wardrobe with the three men inside.  
He grabbed the frying pan again and slowly walked over to if, pushing the chair aside so that the doors weren’t blocked.  
He took another deep breath and glanced at Remy before carefully opening the doors to the wardrobe.  
Nothing moved for a few seconds.  
He then carefully reached forward and shoved the clothes out of the way, only to jerk his hand back with a small gasp once the three men were revealed.  
He held his frying pan out threateningly as he look at them, three pairs of wide and somewhat curious eyes blinking back at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was that? Not too cringy I hope.  
I hope you liked it, I’ll have the next chapter out soon.
> 
> Have a nice day/night!  
Bye!
> 
> The tumblr I’m posting these on is @thegalacticmoth


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!! I hope you enjoy this chapter!  
Also, school is about to start for me, so my updates might get a bit slower, sorry for the inconvenience.  
Anywho, I apologize for any typos I missed!  
bye!!

Roman woke up to a pounding head ache and complete the darkness.  
He tried to move, but found himself unable to, only just know feeling the constriction of something wrapped around him.  
Ropes, his mind supplied as he felt the rough and scratchy texture of the it rubbing against the skin of his wrists. He shifted slightly, testing to see if he could get out of his bonds, but stilled when he felt something shift on top of him, a small groan meeting his ears as well.  
"Lo?" Roman whispered, trying to see the person, but there was both the darkness and some strange cloth in front of his face was blocking his vision.  
"Roman?" The person responded, sounding a little dazed.  
"Yeah it's me." Roman said as he smiled slightly, revealed that he wasn't alone.  
"Where is Patton?" Logan asked quietly."and are you alright? I cannot see in the dark, and there appears to be some sort of cloth-like material obscuring my vision." He said.  
"I'm fine," Roman said."And I'm not sure," he added as he chewed on his lip."Do you think he-" Roman as cut off by another small groan coming from next to him.  
"Hmmm, ro?" The soft voice of Patton asked, sounding dazed and confused.  
"Yeah it's me Pat," Roman said softly as he shifted so he at least thought he was facing Patton."Lo is here too." He said.  
"Are you alright Patton?" Logan asked as he shifted again, probably testing his bonds just like Roman had.  
"I'm fine..." Paton said as he tried to move."I can't really move though." He said.  
"Nor can I, and I assume the same is with Roman." Logan said.  
Roman nodded before voicing his confirmation, forgetting that they couldn't see his nod.  
"Where are we?" Roman asked.  
"I'd assume somewhere in the tower," Logan said."Did either of you two see our attacker?" He asked."All I saw was a purple shirt."  
"I saw a pair of feet." Roman said with a small shrug.  
"I saw black hair and a raven." Patton said."it pecked my face."  
"Is you're face okay?" Roman asked.  
"Yes it's fine." He said reassuringly.  
The three fell into silence as they continued to try and get out of their bonds, but all three froze when they ears heard a muffled voices outside of wherever they were.  
"Do you thinks that's the person who attacked us?" Roman whispered quietly.  
"Yes, I'd assume as much." Logan said.  
The three of them stayed quiet, trying to understand what the person was saying, but the person was either to far away or was speaking to quiet for them to hear.  
It wasn't until they heard a quick call of 'Coming Father!' That they understood anything that the person said.  
It took a few moments, but then another voice joined the first one, though they still couldn't understand them.  
"So more than one person lives here." Roman muttered to himself as he strained to listen.  
Though he didn't need to, as the conversation slowly began to get louder, and all three could feel the tension building despite not actually hearing what was being said or seeing what was happening.  
He heard Patton take a breath, probably to say something, but shouting from outside wherever they were made him snap his mouth closed.  
'Not enough with the lights!! You are leaving this tower! Ever!' A voice yelled angrily, making all three teens freeze and hold their breath. Although the statement was confusing, the tone said enough for itself that whatever argument they'd been having was over, whether the other person liked it or not.  
It was deathly quiet outside for a few moments, and Roman began to wonder if one of them had stormed off, until they started talking again.  
They still couldn't understand them, the first person seeming to have gotten even more quiet, although their voice sounded much closer to them.  
They continued to talk for a minute or so before they went silent again, the only sounds where those of footsteps and shuffling about.  
The three of them didn't say anything or move as they listened to the people outside, not wanting them to know they were awake yet in fear of what they would do.  
Eventually everything went silent and the three held there breaths.  
Suddenly there was a scraping sound right in front of them, and a few seconds later the doors of whatever they were in where pried open, bathing them in light, although they still couldn't really see, being covered in what they now realized was clothes. Were they in some kind of closet.  
The person waited a few seconds before pulling the clothes away, revealing themselves and the three of them.  
The male was short, shorter than Roman and Logan at least, maybe Patton's height. They had shoulder length black hair, pale skin, and bright purple eyes.  
The person took a step back in surprise and held out his frying pan(?) threateningly when he saw them, probably surprised to see that they were awake.  
The three of them stared at him and he stared right back at them, before breaking the silence.  
"Who are you? And why are you here?" The teen in front of them asked warily.  
"Um..." Roman glanced over at Logan and Patton for assistance.  
"My name is Patton, and this is Logan and this is Roman," Patton said, nodding his head in the directions of Logan and of Roman when he said their names."and we kinda just stumbled upon your tower I guess." He added with a small shrug.  
The male stared at him.  
"So....you're not here for me?" He asked cautiously.  
"Um, no, we don't even know who you are." Roman said."Why would we be here for you?"  
The person shifted slightly and his grip on the frying pan tightened.  
"How can I believe you?" He asked."You're criminals." That made the Roman wince.  
"Does that mean you've heard of us?" Roman asked, hoping it hadn't been that. If they wanted to start anew then they couldn't have people recognizing them as criminals on the spot.  
The person bit his lip."not exactly..." he said.  
"What do you mean 'not exactly'?" Logan asked, raising an eyebrow.  
"I...saw the wanted poster in your bag." He said.  
That made all three of them freeze.  
"Wait, you were digging through our stuff?" Roman asked.  
"You broke into my house, I was checking for weapons." The person responded with a slight, probably embarrassed, blush as he defended his actions.  
"Where is it now?" Roman asked.  
"Why do you want to know?"  
"It has something important in it." Patton said.  
"Is it the sparkly thing with the gems?" He asked."Did you steal it?"  
"We didn't want to steal it," Patton said."we were roped into it and it's our ticket to a better life."  
"If you wanted a better life then you should have started stealing in the first place." The person said.  
Roman groaned."Okay look," he began."If you let us go, and give us our stuff, they we'll get out of you hair and be on our way." He said."we can pretend we never met."  
The person stiffened slightly at some point while Roman was talking, and bit his lip.  
He then opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by a caw from off to the side.  
The three liked and saw a raven perched on the back of a chair staring at the teen.  
"Yes Rem?" He asked.  
The bird, Rem(?), took off and flew a spot in the room that the three couldn't see and began to peck at something.  
The teen looked contemplative as he looked at whatever the bird was pecking at, before turning back to the three of them.  
He lowered his frying pan and walked towards the three, before carefully reaching inside.  
He grabbed the ropes that were wrapped around Roman, and pull the teen out of the closet.  
"Please don't hurt him." Patton said worryingly as he and Logan watched him drag Roman out of the closet with bated breath, Roman letting out a small squeak as he was taken out and turned to face the wall.  
"Do you know what those are?" The teen holding him asked as he turned Romans head towards a mural on the wall above the fireplace, the raven perched next to it on the mantel.  
Roman look at the mural for a few seconds. It showed a night sky above a forest, with what looked like hundreds of lights moving across the sky. Though they weren't stars...  
"You mean the lanterns that the kingdom set out for the prince?" He asked as he glanced back at the teen.  
"Lanterns," he mumbled."I knew they weren't stars." He said.  
He then turned back to the two still in the chair and put Roman down in a chair.  
"Okay," he said."I'll let you go, but I'll only give you your satchel back as long as you return the sparkly thing." He said.  
"That would be suicide." Logan said."the kingdom would have us apprehended and hung the moment we got near the palace." He said.  
The teen bit his lip, and looked to be thinking.  
"How about this," Patton began, gaining everyone's attention.  
"You give us the bag back, and we'll take you to see the lanterns." He said.  
The teen froze as he stared at Patton.  
"I-I can't." He said.  
"Why not?"  
"I'm not allowed to leave." He said."let alone go all the way to the kingdom." He said.  
The raven cawed at him and huffed as he ruffled his feathers.  
"Oh hush Remy." The teen said, sending a small glare at the bird.  
"Is it because of the other man?" Patton asked slowly, watching as the teen stiffened again."the one who was yelling earlier?"  
"You heard that?" He asked.  
"Yes, but nothing else really, except that he is your father." Logan said."And that he talks in a peculiar way."  
"It's a curse," the teen said."he speaks in opposites." He explained, getting an understanding nod from Logan.  
"How long will he be gone for?" Roman asked.  
The teen hesitated."three days." He said quietly.  
"Well that's plenty of time to get to the kingdom, watch the lanterns, and bring you back home." Roman said."You're father wouldn't even know you were gone." He said.  
The teen hesitated.  
"You're not lying?" He asked."you'd actually take me to see them?"  
"Of course." Patton said."it would be rude of us to back out of a promise just to get what we want." He said, Roman and Logan nodding in agreement.  
The teen bit his lip, and glanced over at 'Remy', who was nodding vigorously and voicing a little bit, before sighing.  
"I guess I could agree to that deal..." he began,"But the bag stays here the entire time, I'll give it to you once you've brought me home." He said.  
Roman nodded."I can agree to those terms." He said.  
"Would you mind untying us now though? My arm is falling asleep." He added sheepishly.  
The teen hesitated before putting his frying pan down and moved to untie Roman, the ropes falling off of him and onto the floor after a few moments.  
He sighed softly, and moved his hands around a bit as he massaged his sore wrists, slowly regaining the feeling in his hands.  
The teen moved to pull Logan and then Patton out of the closet as well, untying each of them a few moments later.  
"Thank you." Patton said as he smiled at him.  
"We told you our names, what's yours?" He asked as he looked at the dark haired teen.  
He hesitated before slowly answering.  
"My name is ...Ann." He said slowly, looking at him warily.  
"That's a cute name, it's nice to meet you Ann." Patton said as he held his hand out to him, and Ann shook it.  
"Well Ann," Logan began."I don't suppose you have any supplies or something that we could bring along." He said as he adjusted his glasses.  
"Oh, um, yeah, what all do you need?" He asked.  
"Food that won't spoil, and a canteen or something to carry water in for the most part, and any medical supplies you happen to have here." He said.  
"Well," he began."I can get food and water, but we don't have any medical supplies." He said, almost sounding nervous.  
Logan raised an eyebrow at that, but slowly nodded."Alright, May one of us join you in collecting food? We might be able to help you figure out what should be bring." He said.  
Ann hesitated before nodding."Sure," he said."What will the two who don't come to help do?" He asked.  
"We'll go check for the horse," Roman said."Patton can help you with the food, and then Logan and I can go scout out ahead." He said.  
Both Patton and Logan nodded, before looking at Ann.  
"Is that alright with you?" Patton asked.  
Ann hesitated before nodding."Yeah, that's fine." He said.  
Patton smiled and nodded."Okay," he said.  
"We'll see you two in a bit, meet us down there when you're done." Roman said, earning a nod and a smile from Patton.  
Roman and Logan both walked over to the window after that, waving goodbye to Patton and Ann as they went.  
Ann then lead Patton into the kitchen, grabbing a large bag to carry the supplies in.  
"So," Ann began."a horse?" He asked.  
Patton laughed softly."Yeah, it's rider was after us, and after he fell off the horse decided to continue on after us." He said."sent Roman and itself over a cliff even." He added.”that was scary to watch.”  
Virgil's eyes widened."wow," he said."I didn't know horses were so...loyal and determined." He said as he began to take out some food.  
"Yeah," Patton said with a nod as he helped him.  
"Sorry about hitting you guys by the way." Ann eventually said."I was kind of just...panicking I guess."  
"It's okay," Patton said reassuringly."it doesn't hurt that much, and I can understand why you did it." He said.  
Ann nodded, and began to fill up one of the canteens as Patton continued to look through the food.  
"How old are you Ann?" Patton asked."I'm eighteen, Roman is almost nineteen, and Logan is nineteen." He said.  
"Oh, um, I'm seventeen, but tomorrow is my birthday, so..."  
Patton gasped and turned to smile at him."tomorrow's you're birthday?" He asked excitedly.  
"U-um, Yes?" Ann said, looking at him shyly.  
"Oh my gosh I'm so happy for you." Patton said as he beamed at him, making him blush slightly.  
"T-thanks I guess..." he said.  
The two continued to sort through food, putting jerky, nuts, dried fruits, and bread into the bag, along with three canteens full of water.  
"Is there anything else we should bring?" Ann asked.  
"Hmm," Patton thought for a moment."I don't think so." he said.  
Ann nodded."Alright then." He said as he picked up the bag, looping the strap over his head so it hung by his side.  
"Are you sure you want to carry it? I can if you don't want to." Patton said.  
"I'm fine." Ann said with a small smile.  
Patton nodded."Alright, If you're sure." He began, "But one of us can carry it if you ever don't want to on our way there." He said as the two of them walked towards the window.  
"I actually need to go grab something really fast." Ann said."you can start heading down though." He added.  
Patton hesitated before nodding again."Alright," he said as he walked over to the window."will you be long?" He asked as he sat on the sill.  
Ann shook his head."no, I'll be back in just a second." He said.  
Patton nodded and carefully climbed out the window, beginning his slow and steady climb down.  
Going down was much scarier than going up, you weren't able to find footholds as easily, and you had a better chance of slipping, but Patton did his best and eventually got down safely.

—with 'Ann'—

Virgil quickly walked to his room and looked around before grabbing a couple bits of string, along with an extra shirt, stuffing them into the bag before heading back down, and debated for a few seconds before quickly swiping his frying pan from the table and stuffing it inside the bag as well.

—With the others—

Roman and Logan had already come back by then, and had met Patton at the bottom of the tower.  
"Where's Ann?" Roman asked curiously, looking up at the tower.  
"He said he was grabbing something and would be down in a second." Patton said with a shrug before walking with them a few yards away so they could see the window clearly and not need to strain their necks to much.

—with 'Ann'—

Virgil looped the rope through the pulley system the way his father had shown him when he hadn't been strong enough to pull his father up the tower.  
He tied one end of the rope around his waist tightly, making sure the knot wouldn't budge as he carefully stepped onto the windowsill. He held the middle of the rope in his hands tightly, his hands cold and clammy due to his nerves. The rope was the one his father had used years ago, specially made in order to support his weight, and twice the height of the tower so he could do what Virgil was about to, although it was technically just two ropes tied together to make it extra long. He took a deep breath and quickly tied his hair up into a bun as he looked down at the world bellow him, seeing Roman, Logan, and Patton staring up at him.

—with the other three—

"What's he doing?" Patton asked as they watched Ann stand on the windowsill instead of climbing down.  
"Maybe he’s rethinking his decision?" Roman said with a shrug.

—with 'Ann'—

"I can't believe I’m doing this rem..." he said softly as he looked at the bird perched next to him in the flower basket.  
The smart raven cawed softly before taking off and flying down to the other three, almost impatient for Virgil to finally come outside with him like he’d been trying to get the silly teen to do for years.  
Virgil smiled, and took another deep breath as he gripped the rope tightly yet loosely so that it could run through his fingers on his way down, but so that he still had a hold on it and would be able to stop himself at the right time.   
"Look at the world - so close, and I'm halfway to it..." he sang softly, staring down at the three other teens bellow.  
"Look at it all -so big- do I even dare?" He continued as he glanced back at the only home he'd ever known, unsure if he should actually leave.  
"Look at me - there at last - I just have to do it...” he bit his lip and closed his eyes.  
"...Should I?" He hesitated, wondering if he should go back and just give them their satchel.  
"No." He said, a bit more determined as he opened his eyes.  
"Here I go..." he sang quietly as he turned to look down over the edge again, finishing his short little song.  
He quickly tossed the other end of the rope over the edge, the end of it almost reaching the lush green grass bellow, before slowly closing his eyes again for a few agonizing seconds. He then slowly and carefully lifted his foot up off of the sill, and stepped forward -off of the edge of the windowsill- and into the empty open air.

—with the others bellow—

Patton gasped softly as he watched Ann lift his foot.  
"Holly shit, is he insane?" Roman asked as he looked up at him in utter disbelief.  
"Ann! What are you!-" Patton cut himself off as he watched Ann step of the windowsill completely, and begin to fall towards the ground at an alarmingly fast, yet agonizingly slow rate.

—with 'Ann'—

Virgil snapped his eyes open as he began to fall, and curled his legs up towards his stomach as he watched the ground and kept his lose hold on the rope that was quickly running through his fingers. It would have given him a nasty rope burn if he didn't have such tough callouses.  
The wind rushed by his face and pulled strings of his hair out of its bun as his eyes watered from the wind as he gained speed.  
If there was one thing in the whole world he didn't feel anxious about doing, it was climbing and falling -when he knew what he was doing and had a rope at least, he would most definitely panic if he fell without a rope or without any way to stop himself.  
He watched, hands ready, as the ground rapidly approached, ignoring the three panicking teens bellow.

—With the other three—

Patton let out a small cry as he and the other two quickly rushed back towards the base of the tower, all of their eyes wide with shock as they watched him fall, trying to get there in time to try and catch him

— with 'Ann'—

He waited a few more seconds before quickly tightening his hold on the rope, the rough fibers tearing a little at his less calloused skin as he forced himself to stop above the ground, his legs still curled as he hung there, staring down at it.  
If he uncurled his legs he would touch the grass.  
He was so close.

—with the other three—

Ann was already hanging still by the time they managed to get over to him.  
"What on earth were you doing?!?" Roman asked as he gripped Ann's shoulders and turned the still suspended teen towards him."you could have died." He said.  
"It was faster," he mumbled softly."And I've seen father do it a thousand times, I knew what I was doing." He added quietly, still staring at the ground.  
"Still," Logan began."that was quiet a shock, and we'd like at least a small warning the next time you decide to risk your life in order to do something faster." He said as he shifted his glasses.  
Ann nodded, but stayed there with his legs curled.  
"Are you going to come down?" Patton asked with a small yet curious frown.  
"I...I've never touched the ground before..." he said slowly as he stared down at the grass.  
"Never?" Patton asked, surprised.  
Ann nodded."not my life." He said.  
He hesitated a few more seconds before slowly lowering his foot to the ground, warily touching the soft grass that gently tickled his bare feet.  
"It's so...soft." He said with a small smile.  
Patton smiled as well.  
"Just wait until you stand in a meadow or something, the grass there is really soft and full of flowers." He said with a bright smile.  
Ann carefully lower his other foot to the ground, standing up straight a few seconds later.  
"Is it okay?" Roman asked.  
"It's...it's great." Ann said."it's exactly as I thought it'd be, and it smells wonderful." He added as he wiggles his toes experimentally.  
"Well, we can show you more things along the way." Logan said."we should get going now though if we want to make good distance before night fall." He said.  
Ann nodded and quickly untied the knot of the rope before beginning to wind up the rope, ignoring his slightly stinging hands and undoing the knot in the middle so that it was only one rope instead of two.  
"Can you fly the other end up?" Ann asked Remy, who cawed in response before taking the offered bit of rope in his feet before flying it up to the tower again, disappearing through the window.  
Ann stuffed the rope into the bag for future use, before turning to look at the other three.  
"Well," he began."lead the way." He said.  
The three smiled to different degrees, Logan having the smallest with Patton having the largest. The excitable blonde nodded before turning to quickly walk toward the tunnel that Ann had seen his father walk through more times than he could count, the three of them following the other male quickly.  
Remy rejoined them just as they reached the short tunnel, perching on Ann's shoulder and reassuringly butting his head against Ann's cheek to comfort him, making the dark haired teen smile at the bird.  
He carefully followed the three into the tunnel, but stopped at the vines that covered the other entrance, watching the others walk through.  
He took a deep breath before slowly following them, carefully spreading the vines apart so he could easily walk through.  
His eyes widened in awe as he looked at the lush forest in front of him. The rocky barrier between him and his tower had covered everything except for the tops of the tallest trees from view, so he'd never seen any of this before in his life.  
"Wow..." He said softly as he looked at the lush, bright green leaves and grass, contrasting well with the dark wood trunks of the trees and their elegantly swooping branches that twisted and turned and reached for the sun.  
He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder and looked over to see Patton who was smiling.  
"What do you think?" He asked.  
"It's...it's beautiful." He said as he gave him a small smile."even better than what I had imagined.” He admitted.  
"You really haven't left that tower, have you..." Roman said softly with a small frown.  
Ann shifted awkwardly."Well....no, not that I can remember at least." He said as he looked down.  
"Well," Patton said after a few seconds of silence."You're here now." He said, gaining another small smile from Ann.  
"We can show you some of the more interesting things on our way to the kingdom," Logan said."there are plenty of beautiful spots littered throughout the woods on the way there." He added."But for now we really should be going, Roman and I did not see the horse earlier, but it could show up at any time and it would be best if we avoided confrontation with it." He said, with a hint of reluctance in his voice.  
Ann nodded."Okay," he said, shifting the bag a little bit nervously.  
The four of them then set off towards kingdom, pointing out different kinds of flowers or wildlife to Ann as they walked.  
Eventually they fell into a comfortable silence, and Ann began to think to himself.  
I'm actually out of the tower... Father will be so mad if he finds out, I wouldn't be surprised if he killed me.  
No, no he wouldn't do that, father loves me and all he wants to do is protect me.  
Then maybe I shouldn't have left...especially after our argument...  
Ann Hadn't realize it, but he had begun to walk a little bit slower than the rest, the other three only noticing when they pointed out a fuzzy caterpillar and didn't get a response from the shy teen.  
The three of them looked back and saw Ann several paces behind them, having stopped walking entirely as he got lost in his thoughts..  
"Ann, are you okay?" Patton asked softly as he carefully walked over to him.  
Ann took a shaky breath and blinked as he pushed his thoughts back.  
"Is...is this the right thing to do?" He asked quietly."I-I don't think I should have ever left the tower," He added as he took a small step back.  
"Father will be so mad if he finds out, I'll never see the light of day again." He muttered, his face getting even paler than it already was.  
"Hey, Ann." Patton said softly as he slowly stepped closer to him."Can I touch you?" He asked, earning a hesitant but clear nod of approval after a few seconds.  
Patton reached forward and carefully placed his hands on Virgil's shoulders gently, not moving to fast. He would have hugged him if he had been Roman and Logan, but he’d just met Ann and didn’t want to overwhelm him or seem overbearing.  
"Ann, I know this is all new for you and probably stressful or scary even," he said softly."but this is something that I think you need to do," he continued."you've never even stepped outside and your basically eighteen, that can't be healthy." He said as he slowly brought his hand up to touch Ann's cheek, giving him time to pull away if he wanted to, but he didn't.  
Patton gently cupped Ann's cheek in his hand, gently rubbing his prominent yet soft cheek bone with his thumb.  
"We promise that we'll get you home before you're father comes back," Roman said softly from where he stood on Patton's left, with Logan on Patton's right.  
"The trip to the castle is slightly over half a day at the pace we are currently going." Logan said."we will get there tomorrow morning, watch the lanterns that night, and go back to your tower the next morning," he explained softly.  
"You're father won't even know you've been gone." Patton added reassuringly.  
They watched as Ann took a shaky deep breath, and close his eyes before nodding, just barely leaning into Patton's hand, but the blonde noticed and smiled.  
"Okay..." He said softly as he slowly opened his eyes."You're right," he continued."everything will be fine."  
Patton smiled."right," he said."there's nothing to worry about." He added before reluctantly pulling his hands away from Ann.  
There were a few moments of silence, before Logan spoke.  
"We should probably keep goi-" He was cut off by a rustling in the bushes near them.  
Ann froze before quickly moving to stand behind Patton, looking over his shoulder and at the bushes warily. Which was semi-expected, seeing as he'd never been outside before and that could be literally anything to him.  
After a few agonizing seconds, a small rabbit hopped out.  
Ann sighed softly in relief as he looked at the rabbit.  
"Sorry Patton." He said shyly as he blushed a tiny bit.  
"It's okay, I don't mind." Patton reassured him with a smile.  
Roman was about to say something when there was more rustling behind them, in some much larger bushes.  
The four of them cautiously turned around and watched as a bright white and angry looking horse stuck its head out of the bush, eyes locking onto the trio that were now behind Ann.  
"Shit," Roman muttered as the four of them stared up as the large horse in shock.  
“Run.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How did I do? I know I didn’t do the whole song, but I thought I’d be best if I didn’t do the rest of it. I might also cut short another song or two in this, sorry if this upsets any of you.
> 
> And again, school is about to start for me, so my updates might get a bit slower, sorry for the inconvenience.
> 
> I hope you all have a nice night/day!  
Bye!!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!! Sorry for the slow update, and for the short chapter. I pride the next one will be longer. I’m already halfway done with it actually.  
I hope you like this chapter!!  
Bye!!  
(Again, sorry for any typos)

-earlier-

Deceit was walking through the woods at a nice steady pace, a bored expression on his face as he ducked under branches. He didn't mind traveling, it was just boring. If he kept going at the pace he was currently moving, he'd be back home with Virgil's paints on the eve of the third day.  
He stepped over a log and continued to walk when he heard a loud rustling in the bushes ahead of him.  
He quickly ducked behind a tree as a few men walked out of the bushes, slightly poking his head around the thick tree so he could watch them.  
Palace guards, all three decked out in their bright golden armor. The the sun reflecting off of it ‘burned’ Deceit's eyes and made him glare.  
"Come on, the others sent me to tell you that they found something towards the south by the rocks." One of them said. The other two nodded, and the three began to quickly make their away in the direction Deceit had been coming from.  
"The rocks?" He mutter to himself, before realization kicked in and he paled."Virgil." He muttered, his hands tightening on he baskets handle before scrambling to quickly -but quietly- follow the three guards to wherever they were going, hoping that he was wrong.

But, as Deceit has feared, they were at the rocks that hid Deceit and Virgil’s tower. They didn’t seem to be looking for an entrance or anything though, jut looking through bushes, behind trees and at the ground.  
“Look, horse prints.” One said, becoming the captain over.  
“It must be Thomas.” The captain said with a smirk.”He’s probably chasing those three thieves as we speak.” He added proudly.  
“Follow them,” He then barked.”they can’t be to far ahead of us.”  
The other guards all nodded, and the group began to run in the direction the horse apparently went, following its tracks.  
Deceit waited until they were long gone before running out from his hiding spot and through the vines that covered the entrance.  
He quickly looked at the tower, feeling dread pool in his stomach. It looked fine, but something was off.  
He ran to the base of the tower and looked up at the window.  
“Virgil!” He called.”Flower, please don’t throw down a rope!”  
He waited a few seconds, waiting to hear Virgil call back.  
“Virgil!! It isn’t father!!” He called again, a bit more desperate.  
No, no Virgil was there. He was probably just taking a nap or something. Nothing had happened to his precious flower.  
He waited another few agonizing seconds before dashing off to the side of the tower and ripping the ivy away, revealing a patch of more round rocks that were a different color than the rest of the tower.  
He quickly began to tear through the rocks, which were pulled away easily, as if they hadn’t been secured with any kind of cement.  
He soon clawed open a hole big enough for him to crawl through, revealing nothing but a dark and wet stair case, covered in spider webs with tons of water damage every where.  
He didn’t care though, and quickly began to race up the rickety, slightly moldy wooden steps, until he came to a panel, that he began to frantically shove open, it having gotten slightly jammed from not being used in so long.  
It eventually gave and sprung upwards, allowing Deceit to pull himself up and into the living room.  
All the lights were off, the curtains were closed, the closet was open, a chair in the middle of the room, and ropes all over the floor.  
The tower felt cold and quiet, not like how it usually felt.  
“Virgil!” He called, running into the kitchen, and then to the reading nook when he wasn’t there. He tore the curtains away, revealing an empty nook with only a few pillows.  
“Virgil!!” He called again, turning and raving up the steps into his room.  
He yanked the covers back, but Virgil wasn’t there.  
He continued to looking every nook and cranny of the tower were Virgil could possibly be, calling out to him desperately, but couldn’t find him no matter where he looked.  
He eventually ended up back in the living room, breathing heavily as he ran his hands through his hair.  
When suddenly a sparkle caught his eye.  
He looked over and saw something shining from the sunlight underneath on of the steps.  
He quickly ran over and pried the step up, revaluing the hollow step to be full of nick knacks and black feathers. There were shined rocks, bits of jewelry, ribbons, acorns, even a couple forks and spoons.  
The biggest thing though, was a large dark satchel that Deceit had never seen.  
He pulled the satchel out and looked inside.  
His eyes widened as he saw the crown.  
He quickly pulled it out and looked at it in awe before recognition flashed across his face and he dropped it with a small gasp as if the metal had burned him.  
The princes crown.  
Virgil’s crown.  
He quickly loosened into the bag again, dumping out its contents. There was food, clothing, and a piece of crumpled up paper.  
He opened the paper, smoothing it out as he looked at the wanted poster for a trio of thieves. Probably the same thieves that the guards were after:  
Deceits eyes darkened and he scowled as he stuffed the poster and the crown back into the bag, before slinging it over his shoulder and quickly going to his own room.  
He took a key out of a draw on his desk and walked over to his closet, carefully slipping it inside the lock before opening the door.  
Dozens of eyes stared back at him, the sound of hissing and slithering scales on scales reaching his ears as he smirked.  
“Hello my pretties.” He began,”its not time to have a little fun.” He said as the snakes seemed to perk up with glee and slither out of the closet, excreted to finally be out and get to hunt again.  
“Let’s not go get my flower.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was that? Sorry it was short, I promise He next one will be longer. It should be out in a few days, depending on how much time I have to work on it.
> 
> I hope you like it so far!!  
Bye!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!! I hope you’re ready for an expra long chapter cause oh gosh this one is 7,204 hecking words.  
I hope you like it!
> 
> Sorry for any typos and such!
> 
> Bye!!

-Back to the present with Virgil, Roman, Logan, and Patton-

The four of them, and Remy, quickly bolted in the opposite direction of the horse, weaving through the trees, ducking under branches, and leaping through and over bushes, Patton quickly grabbing Ann's wrist to help him keep up with them.  
"Who is that?" Ann asked as he ran alongside them, trying not to let the loud pounding of the horse's strong terrifying hooves behind them freak him out.  
"Its the horse we mentioned earlier." Patton said, his grip on Ann's wrist tightening."I guess it still wants to get us." He said with an weak smile and a small shrug.  
"We need somewhere to hide." Roman said as he looked around while running, quickly ducking under a tree branch that he almost didn't see.  
"There's a sign up ahead, maybe there's a safe place there?" Ann said, looking ahead of them, stumbling slightly as he tripped on a root, but quickly regained his footing with the help of Patton.  
Logan focused of the sign ahead of them and cursed softly as he read the name.  
"As much as I hate to say it, that is probably the best option in our current situation." He said."We need to lose this horse first." He added.  
"I'll distract it," Roman said."Ann, give me the bag, it probably thinks the thing we stole is in there." He said."I'll keep running and loop around and join you guys in a few minutes." He said as he accepted the bag from Ann's slightly shaking hands.  
"Are you sure?" Ann asked worriedly.  
"I'm positive." Roman said with a smile.  
"Only fools are positive." Ann responded, making Roman scoff and stick his tongue out."that was a horrible joke."  
"Stay safe." Patton said, chewing on his lip a little.  
"Will do Pat." Roman said reassuringly, before turning and running off to the side as the others continued on forwards.  
As planned the horse followed Roman, leaving the other three to quickly run towards the sign that Ann could read now as they drew closer to it.  
"The Snuggly Duckling?" He said questioningly.  
"Yes," Logan said."and while it is not the best place for us to go to try and hide ourselves, it is currently our only 'good' option at the moment." Logan said as he gestured for them to slow down, not wanting to make a big scene by bursting inside and drawing a lot of attention to themselves.  
The three of them quickly slowed down to a walk as they drew close to the building, each of them doing their best to calm down their breathing and act natural.  
Both Patton and Logan took their glasses off, stuffing them into their pockets and trying to subtly change how they looked as they walked.  
"What are you doing?" Ann asked as Remy landed on his shoulder.  
"Well, you remember the wanted poster you saw of us?" Patton asked.  
Ann nodded, still confused.  
"Lets just say a lot of the people in there would gladly take Logan, Roman, and I to the guards in return for the reward." He said.  
Logan nodded in agreement."We want to attract as little attention as possible while we are here." He added."so we are doing at least a little something to try and hide who we are, despite it leaving the two of us with less than desired vision."  
Ann chewed on his lip nervously and nodded again."Okay," he said."What kind of people are in there?" He asked.  
"Oh, um...thugs? Other criminals, people like that." Patton said with an apologetic smile.  
Ann nodded, looking even more worried, and if the other two noticed him walking closer to them, neither mentioned it.  
"We'll go in, find some place in the back to lay low while we wait for Roman, and then wait another few minutes before leaving, try to be as unnoticeable as possible." Logan said, earning twin nods from both Ann and Patton.  
Patton slowly and gently grabbed Ann's hand as they continued walk, making Ann jump slightly.  
"Hey Ann, everything will be fine." He said with a reassuring smile."you just need to calm down a little." He added as he gently squeezed his hand.  
Logan nodded in agreement."Patton is right, the people in there will notice if you are nervous or scared and may try to prey on that, use it to their advantage." He said."they'll see you as an easy target for harassment and possible thievery or other things." Logan explained, hesitating for a second or two before carefully putting a hand on the nervous teen's back reassuringly.  
"Don't worry, Me and Logan will protect you, and Roman will as well when he comes back." Patton said with a bright smile.  
"It would be Logan and I, Patton," Logan corrected."but Patton is correct, the two of us -and I'm sure Roman when he returns- will make sure nothing happens to you." He added as he gave him a small but comforting smile.  
Anna blushed a tiny bit, before taking a small deep breath and nodding slowly.  
"Yeah, okay." He said."Thank you." He added shyly.  
Patton beamed at him and squeezed his hand one last time before reluctantly pulling away as they walked up to the door, Logan also slowly pulling his hand away from his back, the loss of contact making Ann feel slightly colder, but he didn't know why.  
Logan opened the door, not and the three walked in, Patton first, Ann second, and Logan following up as third. They got a couple of looks, mainly because they weren't as large and intimidating as the majority of other people in the room, or because they weren't armed to the teeth or covered in pelts or leather armor and other similar things, but they were mostly ignored by the majority of the people inhabiting the place.  
They made their way to an miraculously open table tucked away in the back corner, and each took a seat, sitting quietly.  
Ann was doing his best to not look nervous or anything, but it was difficult -especially since it felt like they were being watched, which sent chills down his spine.  
He chewed on his lip, and his leg began to bounce as a nervous jitter as he glanced around them.  
He didn't notice Patton and Logan glance at each other, but he did notice when Patton discreetly put a hand on his knee in a comforting manner. Which surprising helped, not a whole lot, but it helped.  
Ann gave him a small smile and forced himself to stop bouncing his leg, pulling his slightly swollen lip out from between his teeth as well.  
"Ro'll be back in a bit, then we can get out'a here." Patton mumbled reassuringly.  
"With a few minutes of gap time of course," Logan added quietly,"but yes, we shouldn't be here for much longer." He said.  
Ann nodded slightly, and looked down to fiddle with the hem of his shirt to distract himself. Remy gently butted his head against his cheek reassuringly, which made him smile again.  
Fiddling worked pretty well to distract himself. He began to calm down as he continued to focus on his fiddling, while still taking in comfort from Patton's hand still being on his knee and the weight of Remy on his shoulder.  
It must have worked a little too well, because a few minutes must have passed -with him not noticing, being to focused on unraveling a loose string- and another person suddenly sat down in front of him, startling him slightly.  
He looked up and saw Roman sitting there. He'd taken off his bright red vest -the article of clothing probably inside the bag that was looked over his shoulder- and had unbuttoned his shirt slightly at the top. His sleeves were rolled up, and his hair was parted differently as well, covering his face a bit more.  
"Why hello," He said with a smile as he propped his chin on the palm of his hand, his elbow pressed against the table wood.  
"Oh good," Patton said softly."you okay? Nothing hurt?" He asked.  
Romans smile grew."not even a scratch." He said.  
"You'll have to tell us how you got away when we're back on the road." Logan said with a small smile.  
"I will indeed tell you." He said."how long we here for." He asked in a much quieter voice.  
"At least five more minutes." Logan said, much to Ann's disappointment. He didn't really want to be there any longer, but he also didn't want to get chased around by a horse again, so he didn't have very many options.  
"Here's your bag back." Roman said as he passed the bag over the table to Virgil , who took it with a small smile.  
"Thanks." He said softly.  
The four of them continued to chat quietly amongst themselves, ignoring everyone else for the most part, yet Ann was pretty sure that Logan was subtly keeping an eye on everyone else in the Snugly Duckling.  
"Now should be a good time to leave," Logan said softly, which made Ann relax slightly and smile, happy to finally be leaving. They hadn't run into any trouble, but he'd still rather be away from everyone in the tavern, especially when he thought about all that father had told him about ruffians and thugs.  
The other three nodded to Logan and each stood up, still doing their best to not draw any attention to themselves.  
They then began to quietly make there way out of the tavern, Roman and Logan in the front, with Patton in the back behind Ann.  
They were almost out when they were stopped by a large man covered in pelts with a helmet with two giant horns on it.  
The man looked down at Roman with a calculating gaze, before lifting up his hand off the door, revealing a piece of paper on it where his large hand had been.  
Suddenly it felt like every single pair of eyes in the tavern were on the four of them, which made chills creep up Ann's spine.  
The three of them looked at the poster that was nailed to the door, an almost exact replica of the one Ann had found in their bag earlier. The poster had the words WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE printed on it in large bold letters, with a hand sketched drawing of three men under the words, with a few other details written down beneath the drawing. They weren't exact drawings, and did have some differences from Roman, Logan, and Patton, but it was obviously the three of them.  
Ann gulped nervously and glanced back at Parton, who had paled and was looking worriedly between the man, the poster, and Roman and Logan.  
"Oh it's them alright," another large male with a bald head and a hook for one of his hands said as he walked over to them.  
"Gretto, go find some guards." The same made said as he walked forward and took the front of Romans shirt in his fist.  
"That rewards going to buy me a new hook." He said with a sinister smirk as he held his hook dangerously close to Romans neck.  
"Hey! I could use the money!" Another man who wore a large metal helmet said as he grabbed ahold of Logan, and wrapped his arms around his arms and throat, making Ann squeaking.  
"What about me! I'm broke!!" Another said as he snatched Patton away from Ann.  
Roman was quickly snatched away by another thug, and then it suddenly felt like the whole tavern was trying to get ahold of one of the three, piling them this way and that as they each tried to get away.  
Ann was shoved aside and pushed to the ground in the sudden mass of people trying to get them.  
"Hey, Wait!" He said, but it didn't look like anybody had heard him, or wanted to listen to him if they had heard. Remy flew up and started to peck at peoples faces and ears, but he was either swatted at or ignored for the most part.  
He quickly looked around and tried to get to the closet of the trio -Logan- but was roughly shoved away again, his back slamming into the trunk of a tree that the tavern had been built around, some of its branches even inside near the rafters.  
He looked around and saw a a row of large coat hooks on the wall.  
It'll have to due He though to himself as he ran to the wall and began to try and pry one of the giant hooks off.  
It took a while, longer than he'd like, but he quickly got it off and tied his rope around it.  
He then carefully aimed and threw the hook/rope up and at one of the branches, managing to securely hook the branch while also getting the rope ver one of the rafters that was above the branch.  
He puked the rope, and watched as the large Branch began to bend upwards.  
He waited a few seconds, before quickly letting go of the rope, letting the branch wring down and hit the bald ma with the hook directly on the head, right as he was about to punch Roman in most likely the face or stomach.  
"PUT THEM DOWN!!" Ann yelled, which was probably the loudest he'd ever been in his entire life.  
Everyone seemed to freeze and turn to stare of the pale, skinny teenager that had just hit a guy over he head with a stick.  
"Look,"Ann began with a shaky voice."I have no clue where I am, and if I ever want to even dream of either getting home or continuing this trip, I need the three of them." He said."they are the only ticket I have to getting my dream..." he added.  
The bald man he'd hit continued to glare at him for a few seconds before pulling his axe off of his back and steadily marching forward towards him, which prompted Roman and Logan to try even harder at getting out of the hold of their captors, while Patton called out to Ann and the thug, telling him to leave him alone and such while also trying to break free.  
Ann paled and backed away as the man came closer and closer, until his back hit the counter a yard or so behind him, and even then he continued to lean back as the intimidating man looked over him with a blank yet angry expression.  
Suddenly, his expression changed to one more reminiscent than angry.  
"I had a dream once..." he said, before pulling Ann’s rope and hook down, hading it to the still slightly shaking teen, before turning and throwing his axe at a man sitting in a stool with an accordion in his lap. The axe hit just above the mans head, where a deep gouge was in the wood -which probably meant this wasn't the first time the man had been scared out of his life.  
He jumped and immediately began to play a tune of is accordion, hunched over and as far away from the axe as he could get.  
Then, the man began to sing, much to Ann's surprise.  
"I'm malicious, mean and scary,  
My sneer could curdle dairy,  
And violence-wise my hands are not the cleanest" he sang, stepping back and looking down at the outline of a body on a the floor, which made Ann pale and take a few steps back.  
"But despite my evil look and my temper and my hook" he continued to sing as he stepped back and onto a small stage Ann hadn't even noticed before.  
"I've always yearned to be a concert pianist" the man sang as he began to play on the piano, actually sounding really good despite having a hook for one hand.  
"Can't you see me on the stage performing Mozart, tickling the ivories till they gleam" he sang, accidentally sending a few of the keys flying as he did, which Ann quickly blocked with his bag.  
"Yep, I'd rather be called deadly for my killer show-tune medley, 'cause way down deep inside I've got a dream." He sang, and suddenly everyone else -except for the men still holding Roman, Logan, and Patton joined in on the song, leaving the four teens to watch in surprise.  
"He's got a dream,  
He's got a dream" the other thugs sang in unison.  
"See, I ain't as cruel and vicious as I seem  
Though I do like breaking femurs, you can count me with the dreamers  
Like everybody else, I've got a dream" he sang, and everyone else began to sing cheerful La La La's for a few beats.

-outside-  
Deceit had left the tower, his snakes hiding underneath his cloak as he walked.  
He eventually came upon the Snuggly Duckling, where cheerful singing could be heard inside, which was surprising for a place like this, so Deceit decided to check it out.  
He walked up and peaked through the window, looking at all the singing men, before his eyes caught sight of a very familiar head of hair.  
His eyes locked onto Virgil as he saw his precious flower inside.

-back inside- 

A new man had come up, and after being accidentally smacked by the first, was now taking a turn singing.  
"I've got scars and lumps and bruises  
Plus something here that oozes," he sang, showing Virgil each spot as he sang.  
"And let's not even mention my complexion,  
But despite my extra toes, and my goiter, and my nose,  
I really want to make a love connection" he said, his slightly disgusted and semi-disappointed expression turning love struck as he got up.  
"Can't you see me with a special little lady, Rowing in a rowboat down a stream" he sang as he sat in a barrel that had been cut in half with a small drunk looking old man with a heart patterned parasol, pushing them along with a large stick as if he was actually rowing a row boat.  
"Though I'm one disgusting blighter, I'm a lover, not a fighter" he said as he tied the little old man to a rope, giving him a bone and arrow before swinging him around the room, though the man didn't seem to care.  
"'Cause way down deep inside I've got a dream."  
The other men all joined in again, singing the joyful tune in almost perfect unison.  
"I've got a dream,  
He's got a dream,  
I've got a dream,  
He's got a dream"  
"And I know one day romance will reign supreme," He continued, earning a cheer from the crowd.  
"Though my face leaves people screaming, There's a child behind it dreaming. Like everybody else, I've got a dream!" He finished with a large smile.  
The other men began taking turns singing about each other.  
"Toll would like to quit and be a florist," someone sang as a thin man began to rearrange a bouquet on a table with beautiful while Lillie's, skulls -which Ann hoped weren't real- and even a rat, much to Remus disgust.  
"Gunter does interior design" another sang as a very stylish looking man adjusted a painting on a very well decorated corner of the room.  
"Urf is into mime" Another sang as said man mime showed Ann a few of his skills, not saying a word.  
"Attila's cupcakes are sublime" Another sang as the large man earlier with the helmet that covered his face held out a batch of perfect looking cupcakes.  
"Bruiser knits  
Killer sews" the group sang, showing a buff guy who was knitting while having a cut in his arm stitched shut by another man.  
"Ven does little puppet shows," they continued as Ven showed a couple of his hand puppets to Ann.  
"And Vladimir collects ceramic unicorns" the bald man with the hook sang as Vladimir -the man who had shut the door on them- made two small little delicate ceramic unicorns kiss.  
"What about you?" The man who had sung about love asked as he stared at Logan."What's your dream?"  
"I don't sing," Logan said with a blank stare.  
"Oh oh! I like to sing!" Patton said with an excited smile. He had been really happy seeing the people not hurting Ann and actually being pretty nice to him.  
A couple of the men shrugged, deciding that it was fine. They let Patton go, who quickly went up onto the stage, smiling brightly as he put his glasses back on, seeing no need to not wear them anymore.  
"I have dreams like you, no really  
And mine are kinda touchy/feely -not in 'that' way- They mainly happen somewhere warm and sunny  
In a small house that we own,  
That's built of wood or brick or stone,  
Surrounded by each other as a family!". He sang cheerfully, getting another cheer from the crowd.  
Ann, who had gotten less scared, and was actually smiling a little bit, felt himself being pulled forward, and up onto one of the tables.  
Patton yelled for him to sing over the rest of the crowd.  
And while he was nervous, he decided to do it, not wanting to make any of the thugs around them mad.  
"I've got a dream  
he's got a dream  
I've got a dream  
he's got a dream" he sang as he looked around at everyone from where he stood on the table.  
"I just want to see the floating lanterns gleam," he continued, earning a cheer just like Patton that made him blush.  
"And with every passing hour,  
I'm so glad I left my tower.  
Like all you lovely folks, I've got a dream" he finished singing, quickly getting off of the table, only to be quickly pulled into an excited hug by patton.  
"he's got a dream  
he's got a dream  
They got a dream  
We've got a dream  
So our differences ain't really that extreme" the man with the accordion was pulled onto his feet, and placed in front of Vladimir, who smirked and took a stance, much to the small mans terror.  
"We're one big team!!" Vladimir stomped down on a plank, which I then lifted the other side up like a see-saw, sending the poor musician flying towards Vladimir, dropping his accordion mid air before he miraculously landed in a handstand on Vladimir's head.  
He was quickly thrown to the side, where he landed on a barrel, which was quickly sent forward, resulting in him scrambling to stay up on the barrel as it moved.  
"Call us brutal, sick, sadistic, and grotesquely optimistic!" everyone continued to sing as the poor man had to stumble his way through people juggling sticks with fire and a fire breather even.  
" 'Cause way down deep inside we've got a dream" Logan and Roman has been let go at some point as everyone began dancing, the two do them quickly regrouping with Ann and Patton in the middle of the room.  
"I've got a dream," people were dancing.  
"I've got a dream," they were swinging around on the chandelier and in the rafters.  
"I've got a dream," they were doing flips and other gymnastic moves.  
"I've got a dream,  
I've got a dream,  
I've got a dream!" Everyone continued, getting louder and louder.  
"Yes, way down deep inside, I've got a dreeeaaam!  
Yeah!" The song was finished with a loud cheer, but before anyone could do anything, the door burst open and the man they had sent out to get the guards was there.  
"I found the guards!" He said with a grin, proud of himself.  
Roman, Logan, Patton, and Ann quickly ducked away behind the bar, the three thieves pale and worried as the the joyful mood in the air quickly changed to fear and regret.  
"Where are they!" The guard captain asked as he pushed past the thug and into the room.  
"Where are they, I know they're in here," he continued as he looked around the room."I'll turn this place upside down if I have to." He said as he slammed his fist down on the counter.  
He and his men fanned out, searching the lower level as well as upstairs.  
Roman, ever curious, peaked his head over the top of the counter, and paled even more as he saw the two Stabbington brothers being lead inside, quickly ducking back down before he was seen.  
Something was suddenly pressed against his shoulder, and he looked up to see the bald man with the hook there, who motioned with his eyes for them to move.  
He waited for the guards to all be distracted, before pulling a lever, which lowered the floor behind the bar, revealing a secret passage way.  
"Go," the man said."Love your dreams." He added.  
Ann gave him a small smile before sliding inside, followed by Logan's and Roman.  
"Thank you for everything." Patton said with a smile before following the other three down, making the bald man smile.

"I believe this is one of the men you are looking for." Vladimir said as he held up the little old man from earlier, who held out his wrists to the captain of the guard.  
"You got me!" He slurred with a large grin, showing his missing teeth.  
The captain just looked between the old man and Vladimir in disbelief, wondering if the thug was actually stupid enough to think that this was one of them, of if he was just messing around.  
"Sir," one of his men said as they came down the stairs."there's nothing upstairs." He said.  
The captained cursed softly, and was about to say something when the door burst open, revealing the large white horse from earlier.  
"Thomas," the captain said with a grin as he stared at his horse.  
The horse immediately began sniffing at the ground like a bloodhound, following a trail of scent to the bar.  
"What's he-" one of the guards began, but was quickly cut off by the captain covering his mouth as he stared intently at the horse.  
Thomas continued to sniffer for a few moments before looking at the captain and neighing as he gestured with his hoof at one of the taps.  
The captain just looked at him in confusion, not understanding.  
Thomas let out an exasperated whinny before shoving the tap forward, which then cause the floor behind the bar to open.  
"A passage!" The captain said."Alright men, after them." He said, as he and his men -along with Thomas- quickly ran down the steps."and you!" The captain called back to one guard."watch those two and make sure they don't escape!" He said.  
The guard nodded, and turned to the two Stabbington brothers with his spear raised in a threatening position.  
The two didn't seem to care, giving the man blank stares before one suddenly leaned forward and head-butted him, knocking the man out.  
His brother caught the mans spear as he fell, and used it to break his brothers brothers chains, then said brother took the spear and used it to break his brothers chains as well.  
"Let's play it safe," on of them said as he rubbed his wrists."we'll go get the crown." He continued as he smirked at his brother.  
The two then hopped over the counter to follow the guards.

-outside with Deceit-

Deceit looked through the window, seething with rage as he watched the two Stabbington brothers leave on their own.  
So my precious little flower decided to run away from home, he thought to himself, I'll just have to-  
His thought where cut off by a small drunk-looking little old man who came out of the tavern, singing softly.  
"I've got a dreeaaam, I've got some dreeeeeams..." but then the man looked up at Deceit, his eyes wideneing as he leaned against the door frame.  
"Woah, someone get me a glass, cause I just ground myself a tall drink of water." The man slurred as he looked up at Deceit and winked.  
Deceit, although slightly surprised that the man flirted with him, took it in stride and decided to act flattered.  
"Oh don't stop it," He said with a small laughed as he put a hand to his chest.  
A split second later he was on his knees, one of his snakes shooting out and hissing as it opens its mouth less than an inch away from the old mans bright red nose.  
"Don't Tell me where that tunnel lets out." He said darkly as he urged the snake forward a little.  
The little old man gasped, taking a second to react before whispering."snake." In fear before looking at Deceits glare.

-with Roman, Virgil, Logan, and Patton-

"So," Roman began as the four of them walked down the tunnel."you handled that pretty well back there." He said as he glanced at Ann.  
"Did I really?" Ann asked shyly."I thought I was kinda failing for the most part." He admitted.  
"Oh no you did great," Patton said with a bright cheerful smile."and you have such a pretty singing voice." He added, which made Ann blush brightly.  
"W-well So d-do you." He said as he looked away due to embarrassment, a small smile on his lips.  
"Aw, thank you." Patton said with a smile."and thank you for getting us out'a that pickle," he added."that could have gotten a lot worse." He said.  
"Yeah..." Ann said before he turned to look at each of them with a calculating gaze."you guys aren't hurt to bad right? I know it took me a little while to make them stop." He said.  
Roman shrugged."nothing to bad, maybe a few bumps and bruises here and there, but it's fine." He said.  
"You have a black eye." Ann deadpanned.  
"Wait I do?" Roman asked as he reached up and gingerly touched one of his eyes, where it did feel a bit tender.  
"So I do...does it look bad?" He asked.  
"You look great," Patton said reassuringly."like always." He added with a smile and a wink, which made Roman blush a tiny bit.  
"So Ann," Roman began, wanting to change the subject."I know we're not supposed to ask about the father," he began.  
"Nope," Ann said as he shook his head.  
"or the tower," he continued.  
"Uh-uh."  
"Frankly I'm to scared to ask about the Bird."  
"Remy?"  
"My question is," Roman said."If you want to see the lanterns so badly, why haven't you gone before?" He asked as he looked over at him.  
Patton and Logan looked over as well, and though they didn't say it, they'd been wondering that as well.  
Ann looked down awkwardly and fiddled with the edge of his shirt as he stumbled over his words.  
"Um, w-well...you see, uh, i-it's kinda-" He was cut off by a faint rumble from behind them, then the tunnel began shaking.  
The four of them turned to look behind them, and each paled and stared wide eyed as they saw the group of guards running down the tunnel towards them.  
"GET THEM!" The captain yelled, prompting his men to move faster.  
“Run!” Roman said as he put hand on Ann’s back and promoted him to run while Logan grabbed Pattons wrist.  
The four ran down the tunnel as fast as they could, stumbling slightly over rocks that were scattered about on the ground in the tunnel.  
The guards steadily grew closer and closer to the four of them, surprisingly fast despite all of them wearing bulky armor.  
They eventually saw lightly up ahead, and ran even faster to try and get outside, hoping there would be a place to hide.  
But as soon as they ran out of the tunnel, they had to skid to a stop, a sharp drop right in front of them.  
“Where do we go now?” Roman asked as he looked around for any other pathways or a way down the cliff side.  
Before anyone could answer there was a banging down bellow.  
The four looked down, and saw he Stabbington brothers just as they tore down a bunch of brittle wooden blanks that had previously boarded up a mineshaft.  
“Who are they?” Ann asked as took a few steps back from the edge.  
“They don’t like us,” Roman said as he also took a few steps back.  
Before they could do anything else, the guards ran out of the tunnel, pulling their weapons out.  
The four whirled around and stared at them as they took a few small steps back.  
“Who are they?” Ann asked taking a step behind Patton.  
“They also don’t like us.” Patton said with a weak smile.  
Then the horse from earlier ran out, taking an offensive stance in front of the guards as he huffed and snorted at them.  
Ann began to think of what they could do, looking around them wildly for any way of escaping.  
His eyes eventually caught onto a set of wooden beams from some rundown stricter several yards away. He thought up a quickly plan in his head and took a quick deep breath, before starting to act.  
“Take this,” He said as he pulled his frying pan out and pressed it against Romans chest before pulling his rope out as well.  
He quickly turned and threw the side with the hook at the beam, watching as the rope wrapped around the wood several times before the hook latched on as well.  
He gave it a quick tug before wrapping the rope around his and and then wrapping his free arm around Patton’s waist.  
“Hold on.” He said before jumping off the edge of the cliff, holding Patton close as the other male shrieked and latched onto Ann like a limpet. Remy flew next to them, sticking close to Virgil.  
Ann swung them up and around, focusing on keeping his hold on both Patton and the rope before allowing them to swing onto another ledge of rock not to far away from the one Logan and Roman were on.  
He looked back as he stood and unhooked his rope, seeing Roman and Logan fighting the guards, although Roman was doing more of the fighting while Logan was mainly distracting them or dodging blows.  
“Roman!” Ann called as he swung his rope around before growing the end with the hook towards them.  
Roman looked up from where he had been fighting the horse -which was somehow able to wield a sword- and quickly caught the rope, wrapping it around his hand before wrapping his other arm around Logan waist.  
He then smirked at the horse cockily before jumping over the edge with Logan.  
Virgil used both hand to hold onto the rope as he swung the two of them over to a much more intact structure.  
“Look out guys!” Patton called as he saw the Stabbington brothers right bellow where Roman and Logan would be swinging.  
The two teen curled up their legs and Ann took a few steps back, pulling the rope up so that they were out of reach from the two thugs.  
He then help the two of them swing up towards the structure, where they had a rough but secure landing.  
A loud thumping behind Patton and Ann caused them to look behind them, where they saw the horse kicking against a support beam with its hind legs.  
After a few hard kicks the beam broke free -tearing a large hole in the dam behind them- and fell down across the gap between the horse and Patton and Ann, allowing the horse to begin to cross over.  
“Jump!” Roman called from where he and Logan were, both of them having a secure hold on the rope.  
Ann hesitated, before moving to the edge, where Patton got onto his back and wrapped his arms around his neck.  
He took awhile of the rope with both hands before jumping off the edge just as the horse finished crossing over onto their ledge of rock.  
Logan and Roman held the rope tightly as the two other teen swung down to the ground, and immediately began to run.  
They let go of the rope as Ann pulled on it, before beginning to hazardously scramble down the structure, which began to break during their descent due to it being so old and worn.  
They managed to get down to the ground unscathed, and quickly caught up with Patton and Ann.  
Then the dam that had been behind them burst open due to the hole and the missing support beam, sending down a wall of water that was several stories high.  
The flood of water quickly swept up the horse and all the guards, completely demolishing the old rickety structures before sweeping up the two Stabbington brothers as well.  
The four of them ran faster as the water raced behind them, knocking over large piles of stones and pillar looking rocks, sending the huge rocks down and toward the four teens and raven.  
Roman grabbed onto Ann’s wrist and pulled him faster while Logan did the same for Patton, running towards an open mineshaft in front if them, hoping they could get away by going through it.  
They just barely managed to get inside, Remy swooping in at the last second before a large bile of rocks slammed down at the entrance, and water began to flood inside between the cracks.  
The four boys stood panting for a few seconds before moving the try and go down the tunnel, but found a wall of rocks there instead, where a cave-in must have happen.  
Roman and Ann began to try and dig at the rocks, the former hitting at them with Ann’s frying pan, while Patton and Logan tried to search bellow the rapidly rising water for any means of escape.  
Patton and Logan both broke the surface of the water with twin gasps.  
“It’s no use,” Patton said.”I can’t see anything.” He said as he looked at Roman and Ann in the darkness with a defeated expression.  
Ann, not wanting to believe Patton, took a deep breath before diving down as well only for Logan to wrap his arms around the teens waist and pull him back up.  
“There’s no point,” he said as he held Ann up.”its pitch black down there, you’ll only get hurt.” He said as he slowly let him go.  
The four of them treaded water in silence for a few seconds, the only sound being the water as it continued to rush inside.  
Then Ann sniffed, and the other three looked at him.  
“This is all my fault,” He mutter as he pressed his back against the rocks and held a hand to cover one of his eyes.  
“F-father was right, I-I never should have done this...” he continued as tears began to well up in his eyes.”I’m s-so sorry.” He said as he sniffed again, beginning to cry as he looked down, refusing to meet their eyes.  
“Hey, it’s okay,” Patton said as he moved in front of him,” everything will be alright Ann, I promise.”  
Ann shook his head.”Virgil....” He muttered, causing Patton to give him a confused face.  
“My name is Virgil,” he said as he reluctantly looked up at him.”I-I’m sorry for lying to you, I should have told you in the beginning, but I didn’t know if I could...if I could...”  
“If you could trust us?” Roman finished for him in a soft voice, earning a small nod from Ann.  
“Well, your actions are understandable,” Logan said.”we did break into your home and we are technically criminals, it was very smart not to tell us your name right away.” He said.  
“And for the record,” Patton said,”I’ll like Virgil more than Ann.” He said as he smiled at him.  
Virgil gave him a weak smile back, and let Patton pull him into a hug, quickly joined by the other two as they water reached their necks.  
He closed his eyes and pressed his face against Patton’s neck, exacting that he was going to die.  
He didn’t know who it was, but some started to gently run their fingers through his hair that had come out of its bun at some point.  
His hair......  
His hair!!!  
He snapped his eyes open and pulled back from the hug, startling the other three.  
“My hair!” He said as he looked at the three.  
“Oh, um, sorry,” Roman began,“did you not-” Virgil cut him off by shaking his head.  
“No no it wa okay, but I know how we might survive!!” He said frantically as the water rose to the point where his head bumped the ceiling.  
“How?” Logan asked, staring at him like he’d gone insane.  
“I have magic hair that glows when I sing!” Virgil said.  
“You What?”  
Virgil ignored him in favor of taking a deep breath and bugging to sing as fast as he could as the water rose even more and began to cover their heads.  
“Flower gleam and glow, let your power-” he was cut off as the water completely surrounded them, but he squeezed his eyes shut and continued to sing in his head, and soon felt the familiar tingle of his hair beginning to glow.  
He snapped his eyes open and saw the shocked expressions of the other three as hey stared at his brightly glowing hair.  
But he ignores them in favor of looking around for a way out.  
He quickly saw a small trail of sand and dirt being sucked through the rocks, and motions for the others to start digging.  
They quickly caught on, and the four of them began to frantically dig through the rocks, moving even faster as the glow from Virgil’s hair began to fade, leaving th in darkness again.  
It felt like hours but a.m. was actually only seconds before the four of them broke through to the other side, the building pressure of the water pushing all the rocks away and sweeping them through the hole and outside.  
They each burst through the surface of the water, gasping loudly for air and panting heavily as they drifted for a few seconds, before each of them began to swim towards the bank of the river they’d ended up in, pulling themselves out of the water and flopping down onto the ground, Virgil helping Remy onto land first though.  
“We’re alive.” Patton said in disbelief as he panted, laying face down on the grass.  
“Your hair glows!” Roman said as he sat up and looked at Virgil, who was still panting and laying on his back.  
“Why does your hair glow! Has it always done that? What does-”  
“Roman,” Virgil cut in as he carefully sat up.  
“It...it doesn’t just glow.” He said hesitantly as he looked at the other three teens, who all stared at him in varying levels of shock and curiosity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, how was that? I know it was super long, but I hope it was good.  
I’ll publish the next chapter as soon as I can!  
Bye!!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!  
I hope you enjoy this chapter, hopefully it’s not too cringy or anything.  
I’m sorry for any typos I missed
> 
> Bye!!

-with Deceit-

Deceit was hiding behind a rock, peering over the edge as he waited for Virgil and those other three to appear. The little man had told him that this is were the tunnel let out, so it was all a matter of time before those four came out, and Deceit would be ready for them.  
His snakes hissed and coiled around his ankles in excitement, ready for a little fun after having been kept cooped up for so many years.  
Deceit peered around the edge of the rock as he began to hear grunting and banging, and watched as two large buff men burst out from the trap door in the large hollow tree.  
Deceit quickly ducked back behind the rock, and shushed his snakes before turning his head back to listen.  
"I'll kill them," one of them said as he coughed up a large amount of water."I'll kill those three stupid teens if it's the last thing I do."  
Deceits eyes flashed. Three stupid teens....it couldn't be, could it?  
The two of them grumbled a bit more before beginning to march off, and Deceit knew he needed to act before they got to far away.  
He sprinted quietly and climbed on top of a rock so he could be more intimidating to the two bellow, and let out a sharp whistle to get their attention.  
"Oh boys," he called, smirking as he watched them whirl around.  
"Why don't you not stop chasing your tails like wild dogs," he said as he moved to take the bag off of his shoulder,"and think for a moment." He said as he held the bag out towards them.  
He watched as their eyes locked onto the bag, and laughed softly as they both pulled out their swords and got into a fighting stance.  
"Oh please," he said,"there's no need for that." He added as he tossed the bag to them, which they quickly caught, opening it up even faster.  
They both smirked as they stared at the crown in their hands.  
"Well, if that not all you desire than be on your way," he said with a dismissive wave of his hand before turning to look at his nails with a bored expression."I was going to offer you something worth a thousand crowns, would have made you rich behind belief, and that isn't even the best part." He said with a laugh as he looked back down at the two.  
The two thugs stopped and glanced at each other before looking up at Deceit.  
"What's the best part?" One of them asked, raising an eyebrow.  
"It involves revenge on these three." Deceit said with a smirk as he held up the wanted poster for the three teens.  
He watched as the two thugs smirked maliciously, taking that as a yes.  
Perfect. He thought to himself. Now I can get flower back forever and get rid of all who knew him with one stone.

-With the other four-

Virgil didn't explain anything after that, saying that he would after they'd at least attempted to dry off and set up somewhere they could sleep since the sun was setting and it would be dark soon.  
The other three reluctantly agree, and all four of them set to work. They found a nice little group of trees they could camp around, and cleared away the ground sonitd be a bit more comfortable. They gathered firewood and made a semi-sturdy ring of rocks as a makeshift fire pit. Then they set out on the task of trying to dry off, since their soaked clothes were not helping them to stay warm as the sun set behind the trees and it began to get colder and darker.  
All of the food they had brought had either been lost or ruined by the flood they'd just been in, so Patton and Virgil had volunteered to get some food while Logan and Roman did their best to start the fire.  
"So," Patton began after a few minutes."see anything we can eat? Like berries or nuts or something?" He asked.  
Virgil shrugged and shook his head no."Not really, it's getting a little too dark to see anything clearly." He said."we should probably just go back, I don't want to accidentally bring back something poisonous or something." He added, not looking at him.  
"Alright," Patton said."we can just find something for breakfast in the morning then." He said with a smile.  
Virgil nodded."Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." He said.  
Patton was burning with questions about his hair -like why it glowed, what did he mean by it doing more, and how long had it been doing that- but didn't want to scare Virgil off by overwhelming him all of a sudden with a wave of questions, so he bit his tongue and decided to wait until either a good time came up, or Virgil told them himself.  
The two of them walked back to camp, which they were only able to find since the other two had managed to start up a small fire.  
"Did you guys find anything?" Roman asked.  
"No, sorry" Patton said."but I'm sure we'll find some stuff tomorrow morning for breakfast."  
Logan and Roman nodded, agreeing with the plan before adding a few more twigs to the fire.  
Patton and Virgil each sat down just like the two of them were, and stared at the fire, none of them addressing the elephant in the room.  
Virgil glanced up at Logan and Roman who were across from them. Logan looked fine, not to bruised and battered, but Roman had the beginning colors of a black eye with a bit of swelling around his cheekbone and under-eye, along with a few more scrapes and bruises here and there, mostly on his hands from when they'd been digging out, Logan and Patton had those as well.  
"So," Virgil began, gaining the attention of the other three in less than a second. "I'm sure you guys want to know more about...my hair..." he said as he glanced around at them before back at the fire.  
"Only if you're okay with talking about it." Patton said."you don't need to force yourself." He assured, Logan and Roman nodding in agreement.  
"No it's fine." He said."I-it, um, it's might be easier to show you rather than explain..." he said, hesitating a few seconds before standing up.  
He walked around the fire, the other three watching him curiously as he sat with his back to Roman.  
"What are you doing?" Said brunet asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.  
"Just...just touch my hair..." Virgil said."just touch it and don't let go until I tell you to." He added, looking down at his lap nervously, his cheeks red.  
Roman hesitated a few seconds, glancing over at Logan and Patton before carefully carding his fingers through Virgil's hair, which was surprisingly soft and smooth, settling them against his scalp.  
He felt Virgil shift, and seem to relax, but Roman couldn't be sure.  
Virgil closed his eyes and took a small deep breath before beginning to sing softly, acting almost shy about it.  
"Flower, gleam and glow" the three watched as the roots of his hair began to glow, before the light began to steadily creep down the strands of hair.  
"Let your power shine  
Make the clock reverse  
Bring back what once was mine,"  
Roman couldn't see it, but Patton and Logan stared in awe as the large bruise on Romans face began to fade, and the swelling went down.  
"Heal what has been hurt  
Change the Fates' design  
Save what has been lost" Virgil slowly opened his eyes, staring down at his lap as he sang the last few words.  
"Bring back what once was mine  
What once was mine" he finished the song, and the glow from his hair began to slowly fade away, leaving them to sit in shock with only the light from their small fire.  
"Wow..." Patton breathed softly as he looked between Roman and Virgil.  
"What is it?" Roman asked as he looked over at the other two in confusion.  
"It appears as if your injuries have been healed," Logan said as he looked Roman up and down."how are you feeling?" He asked.  
"I'm feeling great, I don't feel sore or anything." He said.  
"An- Virgil, how did you do that?" Patton asked as he looked at the dark haired teen.  
Virgil shrugged."I don't know," he said."it's always been like this, for as long as I can remember." He said.  
"My father said that when I was a baby, people tried to cut it, that they wanted to take it for themselves," he said as he began to pull his hair back."but, once it's cut, it turns dark brown and loses its powers." He said, showing the short lock of hair that was a dark brown at the nape of his neck.  
"But your hair is already dark, how do you know it doesn't just stop?" Roman asked.  
"I was originally blonde," Virgil said with a small smile."my hair was bright sunny blonde, and it grew at an alarmingly fast rate, so father got a potion, it stopped my hair growth, but also turned it black." He said."I was sick around that time so I don't really remember any of it though, I know it happened around my birthday." He added with a shrug.  
"Father said that a gift like this," he said, gesturing to his head."needs to be protected, needs to be kept away from all the greedy people of the world who would do anything to get it." He said."That's why I....why I never..."  
"Why you never left that tower?" Roman asked softly.  
Virgil nodded a little."Yeah," he said."Father would always remind me to never go out or bad people would snatch me up and only use me." He explained."But, here I am," he said."sitting under a tree, who knows how far from my tower, with three really nice so call criminals." He said with a small laugh."not even child me could have dreamed of ever doing this." He said."I'll need to keep all of this a secret when I go back." He added.  
"You're going back?" Patton asked with a small frown.  
"Well, yeah." Virgil said with a shrug,"its home, and it's not like I have anywhere else to go." He said."And I couldn't do that to my father." He added.  
"But you'll be unhappy," Patton said."you'll be all cooped up again in your tiny little tower, will you ever be able to go outside again?" He asked.  
"Probably not," Virgil said with a sad smile."but, this'll be the best birthday present I'll ever get, so it won't be to horrible when I go back." He said."maybe I'll sneak out again, but I don't think I will." He said.  
"But it's not healthy," Patton said."you'll get like sun-sick or something." He said.  
"The proper term would be a vitamin D deficiency," Logan said."But Patton's right, not going out in the sun on a regular basis can cause your immune system to lower, it can -in more serious cases- impair your vision, it can lead to forms of clinical depression, amongst other things." He said."And even if you can sit on your window for sunlight, it's not quiet the same as going outside would be." He added.  
Virgil bit his lip."still," he began."even if I wanted to go back outside, Father would never let me."  
"Not even to just the little clearing around your tower?" Roman asked.  
Virgil shook his head."I asked when I was seven or something," he said."father said that there are snakes and poisonous plants that can hurt me, so I'm not allowed to go down there." He said.  
"There are poisonous things everywhere," Roman countered."a poisonous spider could get into your tower and bite you more easily then it is that you'll find a poisonous snake right outside your tower." He said.  
"That's not entirely true," Logan said."But I have to agree, there are plenty of dangerous things that you simply just can't be kept away from."  
He chewed on his lip a bit more."Well, I don't really have a say in the matter." He said."I can't change father's mind and that the end of it." He said with a shrug.  
"How far are we from the kingdom?" He asked, wanting to change the subject.  
The other three stared at him for a few seconds, not sure if they should just let this go or not, but eventually gave in, not wanting to pressure him or anything.  
"It should be less than half a days walk," Logan said as he looked at the fire."we should get there around 8:00am or 9:00 am tomorrow morning depending on when we start walking." He explained.  
Virgil nodded but didn't say anything, also staring at the flames as they slowly grew smaller.  
"I'm gunna go get some more firewood," Roman said."wanna come along specs?" He asked.  
Logan nodded, and stood up.  
"We'll be back soon," he said."stay by the fire and add the last few sticks we gather earlier if you need to." He said, before walking off into the woods with RomanC quickly fading from view as they left their small circle of light.  
Patton and Virgil sat in a semi-comfortable silence for a while, before Virgil spoke up.  
"I can, um, I can heal your bruises if you want..." he said awkwardly.  
"Oh, no it's okay." Patton said,"but, I was wondering if perhaps I could...play with your hair?" He asked.  
"Play with it?" Virgil parroted, not sure what he meant.  
"Yeah," Patton said."you seem to, I don't know, relax when Roman has moved his hand through your hair." He said."I don't have to if you don't want me to though." He quickly added.  
Virgil smiled softly."no it's fine," he said."I wouldn't mind if you...played with my hair." He said.  
Patton smiled at him."Okay!" He said happily as he stood up."come sit over here," he said as he moved to sit so that his back was pressed to a tree trunk, moving his legs apart so that there was room for Virgil to sit in between them. He gently patted the ground between his legs to show what exactly he wanted.  
Virgil blushed a tiny bit, but nodded as he stood up."Okay," he said as he walked over and awkwardly sat with his back to Patton, folding his hands in his lap nervously.  
"You can lean back against me if you ever want to." Patton said, before gently carding his fingers through Virgil's hair at the nape of his neck, slowly moving his hand up and along his scalp.  
Virgil sighed softly in content the moment Patton's fingers began to move through his hair. He closed his eyes as he hummed in response to Patton's statement.  
Patton smiled at the reaction, and brought his other hand up to begin gently massaging against his scalp, feeling the teen relax under his touches.  
Virgil began to subconsciously lean back against Patton until he back was pressed against the other males chest as he was fully relaxed and content, letting Patton curl and run his fingers through his hair.  
They sat there for several minutes in silence, and Virgil even began to fall asleep, completely relaxed, but Patton, despite loving seeing the other teen this way, needed to get up to check on Logan and Roman.  
"Virgil," Patton said softly as he stopped moving his fingers through the teens extremely soft and smooth hair.  
"Mhm?" Virgil hummed sleepily, shifting slightly against Patton's chest.  
"I'm really sorry, but I'm going to need you to get up." He said reluctantly.  
He instantly regretted it as Virgil snapped his eyes open and quickly jerked away from Patton, scrambling a way a foot or so.  
"Sorry," He said."I was probably making you uncomfortable or something, I didn't mean to lay on you, I'm really sorry." He began to ramble, his relaxed posture gone and replaced with a much more stiff and nervous one.  
"No no, it's okay," Patton said."I didn't mind it at all, I just need to go check on Roman and Logan, they e been gone for a while." He said softly.  
"O-oh..." Virgil said, his cheeks red from embarrassment as he looked down at his lap.  
"I'll be back in a few minutes," Patton said,"add more wood to the fire if you need to." He added as he stood up.  
Virgil nodded."Okay..." he said.  
Patton gave him a small smile before waving and walking off in the direction Roman and Logan had gone, mentally scolding himself for ruining the calm moment.  
Virgil sighed softly and shivered a little as he watched Patton leave, missing the other teens warmth and his gentle touches. Father had brushed his hair and messed with his hair before, but it felt different with Patton, he couldn't quiet wrap his head around the feeling.  
"Well, I thought they would leave." A very familiar voice said from behind Virgil.  
The teen whirled around and stared wide eyes at his father.  
"Father?" He said softly in surprise as he stood up.  
"Hello dear," His father said as he walked forward and wrapped him in a brief hug before letting go.  
"I-I don't, I don't...how did you find me?" Virgil asked as he stared at him in awe and confusion.  
"Oh it wasn't easy," his father said."all I did was not listen for the sound of complete and utter betrayal and follow that." He said with a sickeningly sweet and horribly fake voice.  
"Father...."  
"We're not going home, Virgil, now." He said as he took Virgil's wrist and began to pull him away.  
"Father...Father wait, you don't understand." He said as he resisted against his pulling."I-I've had the most incredible journey, and-and I've seen and learned s-so much," he continued,"I...I even met some people." He added quietly.  
"Oh yes, those wanted thieves, I'm not so proud." His father said, voice dripping with sarcasm."Come on Virgil." He added as he began to try and pull him again.  
"F-Father, wait..." Virgil said as he pulled his hand away and out of his father's hold."I....I think they like me..." he said quietly, maybe even a little sheepish.  
"Like you? Oh please Virgil that's simple not demented." His father said.  
"B-but Father, I-"  
"This is why you should have left." His father said."dear this whole romance you haven't invented just proves you're not to naive to be here." He said as he cupped Virgil's face in his hands.  
"Why wouldn't they like you, come on now really." He said as he moved his hands away and gestured to all of Virgil."Look at you, you think they're not impressed?"  
"Do be a dummy, don't come with me, Father..."  
"No" Virgil said, working up the courage to say not to his father, despite immediately regretting it.  
"No?"His father said as he looked at him with a brow raised."oh, I don't see how it is." He said as he took a few steps forward towards him, his expression turning serious.  
"Virgil doesn't know best  
Virgil's not so mature now  
Such a clever grown-up boy" he sang as he circled around Virgil, patting his head at the last few words.  
"Virgil doesn't know best  
Fine, if you're not so sure now  
Go ahead, don't give them this!" He sang loudly before whipping out the satchel he'd found under the stairs, showing it to Virgil.  
"How did you-"  
"This isn't why they're here!" He continued singing, pulling out the crown and shoving it in Virgil's face, making hims stumble back a few steps.  
"Go let them deceive you!  
Don't give it to them, watch, you won't see!" He sang as he shoved the bag and crown into Virgil's arms.  
"I will." Virgil said, a bit more confident.  
"Don't trust me, my dear" he sang, before making a short sharp snap with his fingers.  
"That's not how fast they'll leave you  
I will say I told you so" he sang before taking a few steps back.  
"No, Virgil doesn't know best!  
So if they're not a bunch of dreamboats  
Go and not put them to the test!" He continued as he slowly walked back into the woods.  
"Father, wait!"  
"If they're not lying  
Do come crying" his father turned and looked at him with an angry expression.  
"Father doesn't know best." He finished, before marching off into the darkness with an elegant wave of his cloak, disappearing from sight within seconds.  
Virgil stood there in shock for a few seconds before looking down at the bag and crown in his hands.  
He then got a determined look on his face, and turned back to camp, grabbing his bag as he moved to sit down by the still dwindling fire.  
His bag had been emptied so he everything in it was basically ruined, so he stuffed the grown and everything else from inside Roman, Logan, and Patton's satchel inside his own bag. He would have left all their stuff inside their own bag, but he didn't know how he could sneak their beg around while he traveled with them, so this would have to do for now.  
He had kissed added the last few sticks to the fire when he began to hear familiar voices.  
He looked up and smiled in relief as he watched Roman, Logan, and Patton come back, the two former teens carrying small bundles of firewood.  
The three looked slightly disheveled, their hair and clothes a bit messy, but Virgil don't comment on it, brushing the detail off.  
"I see you found some fire wood." Virgil said.  
"Yes we did," Roman said as he set his bundle down."and good thing to, the fire is almost out." He said as he began to add a few sticks to the fire, trying to coax it into being a bit larger.  
Logan also set his bundle down before helping Roman to coax the fire, wanting to warm up since his -and everyone else's- clothes were still damp.  
Patton sat down next to Virgil and smiled at him."was everything okay while we were gone?" He asked  
Virgil thought for a second before nodding."Yeah," he said."nothing really happen."  
"Good," He said."I was a little worried about leaving you all alone." He admitted with a shy smile.  
Virgil blushed slightly before smiling back."Everything was fine." He said as he looked down at his lap shyly.  
The four of them began to chat quietly for a while, slowly adding to the fire as necessary.  
It grew darker and darker, and the four of them grew more and more tired as the night wore on.  
Patton had eventually begun to play with Virgil's hair again, having shifted so that they were sitting in the same position as earlier, with Patton leaning against a tree with Virgil between his legs, and inevitably leaning against him like he had done earlier.  
Virgil, although he was a bit embarrassed, soon fell asleep against Patton’s chest, the calm soothing feeling of Patton's hands, the other teens warmth, the crackling of the fire, and the murmur of Roman and Logan's soft voices lulling him off to sleep.  
The three other teens eventually noticed Virgil's sleeping state, and quieted down slightly, not wanting to wake up the sleeping teen.  
They finally decided to go to bed themselves roughly half an hour later, but then came a problem.  
"I don't want to wake him up..." Patton said as he looked down at the sleeping Virgil. The teen had ended up turning slightly and snuggling closer to Patton as he slept, most likely in search of the other males warmth if the slight shivers the dark haired teens body made were any indicator.  
The problem was that while Patton was comfortable with sitting and leaning against the tree, he didn't really want to sleep there, but he also didn't want a repeat of earlier, so he didn't want to wake Virgil up.  
"I can pick him up and then pass him back to you once you've moved and gotten comfortable."Roman suggested."He can't be too heavy, seeing how skinny he is." He added.  
Patton hesitated for a few seconds, before slowly nodding."Alright, just be careful not to wake him up." Patron said as he pulled his arms and hands away from Virgil, allowing Roman to gently pick him up.  
The other male carefully hooked his arms under Virgil's knees and around his back near his shoulder blades. He then carefully lifted the sleeping teen up and off of Patton, cradling him in his arms bridal style.  
Virgil shifted and hummed softly, making all three of them freeze as they watched him, hoping he stayed asleep.  
Virgil curled closer to Roman with another soft hum, pressing his face against his shoulder and neck before settling, making Roman blush quiet a bit, although it was difficult to see in the dim firelight.  
Patton smiled and cooed softly at the sight of the sleeping teen before getting up and moving over to a semi-comfortable looking spot to sleep, not too close to the fire, but not too far away from it either.  
He looked over at Roman and Virgil, before holding his arms out from where he was laying.“I can take him back now.” He said with a smile.  
Roman nodded, and carefully stood up, holding still for a few seconds as Virgil shifted in his hold, before moving over to Patton and carefully laying the skinny boy down next to him, smiling as Patton almost immediately wrapped his arms around him and pulled him closer, tucking Virgil’s head under his chin.  
Logan, who had been putting the fire out and cleaning up camp, eventually came over and sat down on the other side of Patton.  
“We should go to sleep now if we wish to wake up at an early hour tomorrow that will allow the four of us to make good time in reaching the kingdom.” He said as he took his glasses off, along with taking Patton’s off for him, before setting them onto a log a foot or two away from them.  
Roman nodded.”good plan specs,” he said, sitting down next to Virgil’s sleeping form.  
“Logan and I’ll find some breakfast in the morning,” he said as he shifted to lay down.”you just stay here with sleeping beauty, kay Pat?”  
Patton nodded slightly, not able to do a full nod with Virgil’s head tucked under his chin.  
“Okay Ro,” He said with a smile before snuggling closer to Virgil.  
He could feel Logan move and lay down next to him, and smiled contently.  
He then looked back and watched as Roman cuddled up against Virgil, not wrapping his arms around him like Patton was, but still pretty close to the pale boy in Patton’s arms.  
Patton closed his eyes and hummed softly.”g’night Ro, g’night Lo.” He said softly.  
“Night pat, night specs,” Roman said with a smile as he also closed his eyes.  
Logan huffed softly at the nickname, but wished them goodnight anyways.”goodnight Patton, Goodnight Roman.” He said as he also closed his eyes, subconsciously shifting closer to Patton.  
“Goodnight Virgil.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was that? I hope I did good.  
Did you guys like it?
> 
> I’ll try posting again soon, but I have a play for school, and choir, and all my other classes, so I don’t know when exactly I will update.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sure do suck at updating don’t I.  
Well, I’ll try to update again soon, sorry for the wait!

-The next morning-

Roman hummed softly as he shifted, slowly beginning to wake up due to something wet dripping on his face that stirred him from his slumber.

He sluggishly blinked his eyes open, quickly shutting them with a small grunt as the the bright shining sun burned his eyes.

After a few seconds he opened his eyes again, squinting in the sunlight this time.  
He felt something shift against his chest, prompting him to look down, ignoring what had originally woke him up.

His face flushed bright red at what he saw. He even blinked a few times just to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

There was Virgil, his back pressed to Roman's chest with Roman's arms wrapped around his waist and hips, with his face pressed up against Patton's neck, tucked under the other teen's chin.  
both of them still sleeping soundly, and they looked so cute that Roman could have been happy to just lay there and look at them for the rest of the day if that wasn't slightly creepy.

His eyes caught onto a pair of pale arms wrapped around Patton's waist from behind the small male, and he smiled, knowing it was Logan, the taller teen most likely having wrapped his arms around him in his sleep like Roman probably had to Virgil.

He felt another drip of water fall on his face, followed by a huff that prompted him to look upwards.

He turned his head, only to meet the snout of a dripping wet horse, who was huffing and puffing at him angrily, the trickle of water from his snout dripping onto his cheek every few seconds or so.

Roman -his better judgment nonexistent in his sleepy and content state- stared up at the horse for another few seconds before snuggling closer to Virgil.

"Well I hope you're here to apologize." He mumbled softly as he closed his eyes and held the still sleeping Virgil tighter, burring his face into the younger boy's soft hair.

.  
.  
.

Patton was startled awake by a, unfortunately, familiar shriek cutting through the crisp morning air.

He jerked up into a sitting position and looked towards the source, his eyes widening as he saw Roman shrieking and being dragged away by the horse that had been chasing them the day before, his boot gripped firmly in the horses mouth.

Both the shriek and all the moving had woken Logan and Virgil, who also quickly sat up and watching as Patton scrambled forwards, grabbing onto Romans arms, prompting the the other two to quickly move forward try to help as well.

"Let go of him!" Patton said as he pulled Roman with the help of Logan and Virgil, grabbing his forearms while both Virgil and Logan each grabbed one of his hands.

The horse didn't budge though, only pulling harder until Romans boot popped off, causing him to jerk forward and knock both Logan and Patton down as he crashed into them.

The horse spat out the boot and reared up with the horses equivalent of a battle cry.

But suddenly Virgil was there, standing in front of the horse with his hands out, trying to block him from getting to the others while also trying to calm the horse down.  
"Woah woah woah woah woah woah," he said with wide eyes as he moved around jerkily so that he was always in front of the horse, despite it trying its best to get around him to the other three.

He hadn't been thinking, and just sort of jumped out and in the way. He only realized after how stupidly lucky he was that the horse didn't slam down and practically crush him.

"Easy, easy," he muttered softly as the horse finally calmed down somewhat.  
"That's it." He said quietly as he slowly lower his hands.

He glanced back and saw the three standing a few yards behind him, Roman standing in front of Logan and Patton in a protective manner, despite the, although well hidden, fear on his face.

Virgil turned to look back at the horse, who was glaring over Virgil's shoulder at the three thieves.

"Okay..." Virgil glanced down at the name printed across the horses harness.  
"Okay, Thomas," he said slowly."you seem to be a very smart horse, so I'm going to offer you a deal." He said slowly, not taking his eyes off the horse as the much larger creature turned to look at him.

"Today is, well, it's really important to me," he began."and I kinda need these guys to help me, so I sorta need you to not get them arrested." He said, trying to sound as sweet as he could, although he'd never been good at that, or at least father had been good as not succumbing to Virgil's pleading and desires when he tried to sound overly sweet and used puppy-dog eyes as a child.

The horse, Thomas, huffed at him and returned to glaring over his shoulder at the other three.

"But," Virgil quickly added, regaining the horses attention."If you don't arrest them, then we'll get you, um, apples and carrots? A-and, um, anything else that you might want." He said with a weak shrug.

Thomas seemed to be slightly tempted by the offer, but wasn't near convinced enough.

"And, it's uh kinda my birthday and all, so I'd, um, I'd really appreciate it if you didn't you know, ruin the most, um, the most important day of my life." He added, looking at him hopefully.

Thomas stared at him as he weighed the pros and cons in his head, before closing his eyes and sighing as he sat down like a dog, nodding his head in agreement.

Virgil relaxed and sighed in relief and muttered a small thank you to Thomas before turning to look at the other three behind him.

"It's okay now, he's not going to do anything for at least the rest of the day." He said as he gave them a small smile, which Patton returned, although his was bigger.

"Oh good," Patton said. "that makes getting to the kingdom easier." He said.

"Agreed," Logan said. "Now that we are no longer behind chased by, erm, Thomas, we will have a much easier and quicker time getting to the kingdom." He said, nodding in agreement.

"Um, not that I'm not happy with the whole 'no longer being chased thing', but could I get my boot back?" Roman asked as he looked at the boot that was behind Thomas.

Said horse huffed and moved out of the way so Roman could get by.

They eventually began to continue walking to the king dorm, after Roman had gotten his boot, after they'd all eaten a small breakfast of black berries, and repacked all of their stuff.

They walked in silence for the most part, chatting a bit every now and then, and also pointing out new things to Virgil just like they had the day before.

Eventually, after making it out of the woods, they came up to a very large and sturdy stone bridge, across from which towered the beautiful kingdom of Corona.

Virgil's eyes lit up as soon as he saw the glittering city in front of them, both excitement and anxiety coursing through him as he and the others stepped on to the bridge and began to cross over.

The other three followed him, each smiling fondly at his excitement, although they were also sticking close to one another and keeping their eyes out for any guards, still worried about the threat of being arrested.

They followed Virgil into the bustling streets, the air filled with excitement for the day of festivities before them.

Patton, as the group walked, spotted a group of girls braiding each other's hair, and then looked back at Virgil before looking at them again, before a large grin split across his face as he noticed Virgil looking at them as well.

Virgil startled slightly as he felt Paton wrap both his arms around Virgil's left arm, pulling him to a stop. He looked at Patton curiously with a small frown. "Is something wrong?" He asked.

Patton beamed at him and shook his head. "No no, nothings wrong, but I was just wondering if I could braid your hair?" He asked turning to glance back over at the little girls braiding each others hair.

"Um, s-sure I guess?" Virgil said as he also glanced back over at the girls, blushing a little bit.

Patton's grin somehow managed to grow bigger, and he turned to Roman and Logan.  
"Can you guys go find some ribbons and some flowers please?" He asked. "Maybe some purple or yellow colors?" He added.

The other two agreed to go look for some flowers and ribbons for Patton to use as decorations for Virgil's hair, while Patton lead Virgil over to a small stone wall to sit on.

The two sat down, Virgil crossing his legs while Patton sat on it the same way you'd sit on a horse.

Patton began to fiddle a bit with Virgil's hair, smoothening out any tangles that had formed with his fingers, while also picking out a few bits of moss or twigs that had gotten caught there with all the excitement from yesterday.

Virgil seemed to relax a bit as Patton messed with his hair. He kept his eyes open, and didn't lean back against Patton this time, but he seemed to relax, his previously stiff shoulders dropping down as he snagged forward slightly while still tipping his head back for Patton.

They waited a few minutes, quietly chatting, before Roman and Logan came back.

They hadn't managed to find any ribbons, but they'd found some purple, white, and yellow crocus flowers, the two of them blushing and wearing flower crowns as well, Roman also had a few more looped around his arm.

Patton giggled softly as they both came up to them. "Where'd you get the crowns?" He asked as he accepted the ribbons and flowers from Logan.

"The man who gave us the flowers also gave us a couple of crowns for much less than the others he was selling, saying that they were from the day before and that he'd just throw them out if we didn't want them, since they're gunna start wilting soon." Logan explained as he and Roman sat down on the ground. "We brought you each one as well, although Virgil might not need it, since I'm assuming the flowers are for his hair." He added.

The flower crown Logan was wearing was rather simple, only having a few daisies woven through a couple twisted rings of sticks, along with a few stems of forget-me-nots strung through them as well.

The one Roman was wearing has a couple of orange roses with some small-sized sunflowers and some yellow, red, and orange marigolds, along with long twisted yellow grass wrapped around the frame of the crown.

The other two crowns, which now sat in Romans lap, were purple and blue. The blue one had forget-me-nots like Logan's, along with a few blue irises, white daffodils, and a few bits of caraway here and there.

The purple one had mostly large patches of lilacs on it, with a few stems of lavender, some white colored hyacinths and grape-style hyacinths, along with caraway flowers like the previous one.

Patton smiled as he turned back to face Virgil's back, running his fingers through his hair again.

"That was very kind of him." Patton said. "and I'll make sure to only add a few of the crocuses so that Virgil's hair won't look to cluttered with both them and the crown." He added as he began to get to work on Virgil's hair, separating it into chunks and using the bits of string Virgil had brought to tie each braid instead of the ribbon since they didn't have any.

The end result was of four braids, two on each side coming backward and joining together to form two buns on the back of his head, along with a smaller third bun above those two made up of some not-braided hair. It looked very pretty, especially after Patton carefully placed the multicolored crocuses in his hair, tucking the delicate flowers into the braids.

Virgil had sat still while Patton worked, quietly chatting with the rest of them as he let Patton braid his hair. They talked about some of the other things that they'd do while they were at the festival, and where they'd go to watch the lanterns later that evening.

Roman, as soon as Patton finished, stood up with a flourish and crowned the two for them with their flower crown once they'd finished, the blue one for Patton and the purple one for Virgil. The two blush and each smiled, Patton practically beaming as bright as the sun while Virgil on smiled shyly.

"Two crowns for two beautiful princes." Roman joked as he smiled at them.

"You're the real beautiful prince here Roman." Patton said."I remember when we were kids and you'd always beg to play the part of the heroic prince." He said with a laugh.

Roman only blushed a tiny bit at that, as he admitted that that was in fact true, before brushing it off and ushering the group of them to go and look at the rest of the festival.

It was later that evening when they came Up to a nice while open area, people bustling around the edges of the space as they looked at carts or bought stuff in stores.  
A group of musicians were playing off to the side, and Patton squealed excitedly before latching onto Logan's hand and dragging him out into the open space to dance with him, much to the taller males surprise.

Roman laughed softly before turning to Virgil and offering out his hand.

"Might I have this dance?" He asked as he bowed slightly, being the theatrical man Virgil had grown used to him being.

Virgil blushed brightly and smiled a small bit as he nodded and accepted his hand.

"It would be my pleasure." He said, making Roman bean at him before excitedly pulling him in to join the dancing, a decent amount of other people joining in now as well.

Virgil, although very nervous at first, picked up the dance rather quickly, and was soon laughing and smiling widely as he danced around, switching partners every now and then as the dance called for it.

He eventually got partnered with Patton, who beamed at him as they began to dance together, Patton taking the lead with a small nod from Virgil.

As he danced with Patton he began to remember earlier that day as they had been exploring the festival.

___  
At one point they had all gotten separated and Virgil and freaked out a bit, trying to spot at least one of the other three men as he began to panic, thinking he would never be able to get back home again.

Then he stumbled into Patton, literally.

He hadn't been paying attention to where he was as walking in his increasingly panicked state and accidentally ran right into him, rocking them both back a step and throwing him off balance, only for Patton to quickly grab his arm and pull him back up before he could fall over.

Virgil began spilling out apologies as he took large deep breaths, Patton quickly leading him to a bit more secluded and quiet area, tucking them into a small corner.

"Hey, it's alright, I wasn't looking where I was going." Patton said as he sat down and carefully sat Virgil down in front of him, frowning softly as Virgil took another shuddering breath, finally having stopped with his apologies.

"N-no, I wasn't paying attention, I'm sorry, I almost made you fall over." He said as his breath hitches again.

"I already said it was alright Virgil, I'm not upset or anything, I'm just glad you didn't get hurt." He said, before gently curling one of Virgil's cheeks. "You've been crying," he said softly as he wiped away some of the tears with his thumb."I didn't hurt you did I?" He asked worriedly.

Virgil closed his eyes and shook his head before leaning into the touch slightly.  
"N-no," He said with a sniff."I'm fine, I was just...just panicking a bit," he admitted as his cheeks turned red with embarrassment."I-I couldn't find any of you guys, and it was just getting to be to much." He said as a few more years slipped out.

Patton cooed softly and lifted up his other hand to cup Virgil's other cheek, using his thumbs to brush away the newest set of tears.

"Hey, it's okay." He said."there's nothing to be embarrassed about." He said.  
"To be honest, I was also freaking out a bit, wondering if one of the others had gotten caught, or if you had gotten hurt or lost." He said.  
"But we're both okay and I'm sure Logan and Roman are alright as well." He added as he smiled at him reassuringly, his smile widening a bit as Virgil peaked his eyes open to look at him.

The smaller male took another deep breath before nodding slightly."Yeah, yeah you're right." Virgil said softly as he slowly leaned forward and pressed his face against Patton's shoulder, relaxing as the other male wrapped his arms around him and rubbed his back with one hand, holding him securely around the waist with the other.

They sat there quietly for a while, feeling content enough to just sit with one another, relaxing in each other's presence.

But, they did have to eventually move.

"Here, you stay right here and I'll be right back with something that'll make you feel better," Patton said as he slowly stood up."I'll also keep an eye out for Logan and Roman." He added.

Virgil bit his lip and nodded hesitantly.  
"You'll be back right?" He asked.

Patton smiled and knelt down in front of him.  
"Of course I will." He said as he gently cupped the back of Virgil's head, pulling him closer.  
"Nothing can keep me away," he added as he gently pressed a kiss to Virgil's forehead, before slowly standing up again, blushing a bit.

Virgil blushed bright red and nodded before watching Patton walk away, lifting a hand to his forehead as his blush darkened.

Patton came back a few minutes later, his hands behind his back.

"I didn't see them," he said with an apologetic smile as he sat down in front of him again. " but I bring treats." He said as he beamed at him and held his hands out, two small cupcakes being presented. They both had simple white frosting, but looked good.

Patton held one out to Virgil, who smiled shaking and thanked him as he looked down at the small cupcake, a warm feeling swelling up inside him as his stomach fluttered.

Patton grinned and gently tapped their cupcakes together, making a pretend 'clink' sound as if they'd just tapped two glasses together.

"Happy birthday." He said softly before both he and Virgil ate the delicious treated, his words making Virgil blush all over again.  
___

Virgil was brought back to the present as the dance called for them to switch partners again, him and Patton splitting apart in order to continue the dance.

After a couple of rounds Virgil found himself partnered with Logan, who had grown out of his awkward stiffness and was now smiling as well.

He and Virgil danced for a bit, moving around one another and linking arms and clapping in sync with the rest of the people dancing.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Roman and Patton dancing together, the pair smiling brightly.

He turned back to looked at Logan, who was still smiling as he danced with Virgil, and Virgil began to think back to earlier that day when he and Logan had split off from the group for a bit.

___  
After Patton and Virgil had found the other two, Mitch to Virgil’s relief, they began to wander throughout the festival yet again, doing their best to stick together this time.

And they were doing a pretty good job at it, that is until Virgil and Logan spotted a bookshop, the two of them becoming curios and even a tiny bit excited. Virgil had been re-reading the same books over and over and over again for almost his whole life, so the thought of there being so many more books he could read excited him.

He and Logan told the told the other two what their plans were, and the four of them agreed to meet int the market place when they were done.

Then they split up, with Logan and Virgil heading into the bookshop, and with Roman and Patton heading off to go continue exploring.

The two stepped inside and Virgil couldn’t believe the vast number of books he saw, his eyes filling with wonder and curiosity as he saw books as think as his pinkie, to as thick as some of the cakes he’d made.

“Anything in particular that you’d like to look at?” Logan asked as he turned to look at him, smiling at his wonderstruck expression.

“I don’t even know where to begin,” he said. “There are so many books...” he said softly.

“Just wait until you see a library.” Logan said before leading Virgil forward into the tall shelves of books.

“What’s a library?” He asked as he followed Logan.

“Its a large building filled with hundreds upon hundreds of books, ranging from fiction to historic or mathematic or scientific, any genre you can think of.” Logan said. “But you can’t buy these books, they’re only for borrowing or reading in the library.” He said.”maybe we can take you to one tomorrow morning before we bring you back home.” He added softly.

“I’d...I’d really like that.” Virgil said softly as he blushed a tiny bit and smiled at him. “It sounds wonderful.” He added.

The two of them continued to comb through the shelves, looking for anything that peaked their interest.

They eventually found a book about flora and fauna, that Virgil began to flip through, curious about all the plants and animals in the world and around them hat he had never seen or heard of before.

Logan, with his own book of astronomy in hand, lead Virgil to a comfortable place to sit, where the two of them began to read through their books, sitting in comfortable silence, except for when Virgil would ask Logan a question.

“Who does a spider walk up walls?” Virgil asked as he looked through a section dedicated to spiders.

“Well a spider has more than half a million of these little setules, all of which end in a triangular tip on the spiders ‘foot’. These are flexible hairs though, not pickaxes, so spiders don't actually dig into the wall as they climb. Rather, their setules trigger a reaction that helps them adhere to a flat surface, allowing them to climb.” Logan explained, closing his book as he moved to look at Virgil’s book.

“That particular spider is a wolf spider, they are incredibly common and live almost anywhere in the world.” He said. “They are hunter spiders, where they’ll either ambush or freely hunt their prey instead of catching it in a net. They are appropriately named because they powerfully pounce on their victims, like a wolf.” He said as he pointed to the little drawn picture of a wolf spider.  
“Another fact about wolf spiders is that they do not live in the classic style of web, and instead reside within burrows which have a thick carpet of web covering the walls.” He added.

Virgil listened to him intently, soaking up the information like a sponge as Logan continued to talk about spiders, nodding along when needed.

They eventually continued to go on through the book together, going through the pages and discussing the new creatures as they came up in the book. Virgil knew some of them, but there were a whole lot he didn’t know, and Logan happily told him about them, giving him little bits of information the book didn’t include.

Thirty minutes turned into an hour, which then turned into two hours, of the two just sitting there and talking.

Eventually they needed to leave though, not wanting Patton and Roman to worry about them, and began putting the books away from where they’d gotten them, albeit a bit reluctantly, seeing as they had both been enjoying their time together.

Logan told him to wait outside for a second, saying he was going to ask the shopkeeper a question, and Virgil agreed to wait outside for him, if only a little reluctantly.

Logan joined him outside a few minutes later, holding his hands behind his back.

Virgil smiled at him, looking relieved to no longer be alone.  
“What did you ask the shopkeeper?” He asked.

“Well, I was curious to see if he had any blank journals, and he did.” Logan said as he brought his hands out and showed a thick leather-bound book with a beautiful sun design imprinted into the front of it.

“I thought that you could, well, that you could make you’re own little book.” Logan said as he looked away.”about all the new things you’ve seen and learned, and anything else you see and learn in the future.” He said as he held the book out to Virgil, blushing slightly. “Happy birthday.” He added softly.

Virgil blinked at him in surprise for a few seconds before blushing and shyly accepting the book.

“T-thank you,” He said softly as he hugged it to his chest.”you didn’t need to get me anything, and how did you know it was my birthday?” He asked curiously.

“Well, earlier this morning when you were talking to the- talking to Thomas gave me a pretty good idea,” he began. “and Patton told Roman and I on our way back from, ahem, collecting firewood.” He said, and he’s cheeks darkened even more, which confused Virgil a little bit, but he brushed it off due to his own embarrassment.

“A-ah,” He said as he nodded slightly,”Well, thank you for the book, and for sitting and talking with me.” He said.

“It wasn’t a problem at all, I enjoyed my time with you.” Logan said. “We should probably go find the other two before they get into trouble.” He added, before leading Virgil down the street.  
___

Virgil switched dance partners again, spinning around Logan and to his next dance partner, a young lady with brown braided hair that went down to her waist.

He danced with her for a round before switching partners again, and then again,  
Before ending up with Roman again.

He saw Roman smirk, and found himself smirking back as the two of them danced, now moving much smoother than their first dance had gone, due to them no longer being nervous and actually knowing the dance now.

As he danced with him, still clapping every now and then with everyone else and twirling around when need, he began to think about a few hours ago, when Roman had excitedly dragged Virgil away from the group.

___  
Virgil reluctantly let Roman drag him away.

“What do you think you’re doing princey.” He asked as Roman dragged him, nick naming him in reference to the story Patton had told earlier.

“Princey?” Roman asked.”giving me a nick name now huh.” He said with grin, making Virgil flush slightly.

“S-shut up,” he muttered as he continued to let Roman drag him away, until they wound up in an semi-packed space, kids and adults all scattered about with colored chalks, shrieking and laughing as they drew on the ground and rubbed the colored dust on one another.

“I know, or well I assumed, that you liked to paints and stuff,” Roman began. “So I thought that you’d like to draw with some chalk.” He said.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to.” He quickly added.

“No, I’d like to.” Virgil said as he smiled at him. “It’d be fun.” He added as he walked over to one of the many buckets of chalk, and grabbed several shades of purple, pink, and yellow, before heading over to a large open spot, Roman following and making himself comfortable on a barrel off to the side from where Virgil was, planning on watching him draw.

Virgil immediately got into it, letting his hands move without any real idea as to what he was doing. He grabbed colors at random, and smudged them on the ground to make it look more blended, getting chalk all over his hands, pants, and even his face.

His drawing just kept getting bigger and bigger, and a few people began to watch, ooh-ing and ahh-ing at the large and beautiful drawing.

It took a while before Virgil decided he was done, the sun sinking lower in the sky but not quiet sunset yet.

He stood up and rubbed his face a little, getting even more chalk there, as he looked down at his drawing, smiling brightly.

Roman walked over and smiled.

“Looks pretty good Verge.” Roman said.

“Verge?” Virgil asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Hey, if I get a nickname, you get a nickname.” Roman said with a grin.

Virgil scoffed and reached forward to smear purple chalk on Romans face, gaining a small shriek in response that made him laugh.

“How dare you,” Roman said as he reached into a bucket and covered his hands in red chalk dust.

“This means war.” He said, before teaching out for Virgil, who quickly ducked away and out of reach, a game of chase ensuing.

Patton and Logan eventually found them, both covered in chalk and panting softly, grins splitting across their faces.

Then they all began to wander around again, Roman and Virgil occasionally smearing the remaining chalk dust on either one another, or the other two.  
___

Virgil looked up at Roman as the dance picked up speed, his eyes tracing over his face and the remains of purple and red chalk smudged on his cheeks and chin.

He smiled, and continued dancing, spinning around and clapping when needed as he felt the final of the song coming up, finishing with a slight flourish a before being pulled against Romans chest, one of the other males arms wrapped around his waist and the other still holding his hand, while Virgil’s other hand was on his shoulder.

They both panted softly as they looked at one another, neither of them moving for a few seconds, before letting one another go, both of them beginning to blush.

They met up with Patton and Logan, who where both red in the face as well, and heard a man call for everyone to head to the boats cause the lanterns would be set off soon, seeing as the sun was now setting behind the trees and it was growing darker.

The four of them, plus Thomas and Remy who had been following them around throughout the day, made their way down to the docks, and got into a small yet sturdy boat, leaving Thomas behind with a bag of apples and carrots, as promised.

Virgil, while the others were distracted, slipped the satchel into the boat, tucking it under one of the seats.

Logan and Roman rowed then out to the middle of the lake, farther out than the rest of the boats were, before settling them to a stop on the still water.

The talked softly as they watched the sun continue to set, the sky growing darker and the stars coming out, both Logan and Virgil pointing out the constellations as they appeared.

Remy made himself a perch on the edge of the boat, huddling in on himself as he watched the four of them contently.

It soon became night time, the sun now gone and the world dark around them, a little chilly but none of them really minded, but Patton and Virgil did scoot a little bit closer two Roman and Logan, who had already pressed a little closer to one another as well.

“All those days watching from the windows  
All those years outside looking in  
All that time never even knowing  
Just how blind I've been” Virgil sang softly.

The waited another few minutes, before they noticed a small light begin to move across the sky, and then watched with wonderstruck eyes as thousands of lanterns began filling the skies, slowly floating through the air and around them.

“Now I'm here blinking in the starlight  
Now I'm here suddenly I see  
Standing here it's all so clear  
I'm where I'm meant to be.” He continued to sing, looking up at the sky.

Virgil was the most amazed out of the four of them, his eyes wide and mouth slightly opened as he looked around them at all the swirling and beautiful lights.

“And at last I see the light  
And it's like the fog has lifted  
And at last I see the light  
And it's like the sky is new  
And it's warm and real and bright  
And the world has somehow shifted.”

He watched one sink towards the water, and jerked out across the boats edge in order to left it back up, not rely caring anymore about the cold or that he got a little bit wet in the process.

He turned back to look at the other three, and watched as Logan pulled out several bits of folded paper.

“All at once everything looks different  
Now that I see you.”

He seemed to barely touch them before they puffed up into large lanterns like the one in the sky, passing them out to the other two before lighting them so that they’d float.

Patton held out one of the lanterns to him, but he didn’t take it yet.

“I have something for you too.” He said, before reaching under the seat and pulling out the satchel.

“I-I should have given it to you before, but...but I was scared.” He admitted. “scared you’d leave me all alone or hurt me.” He said.

“But, well, I guess I’m not scared anymore.” He said softly as he smiled at them.  
He passed the satchel to Roman, who held it for a second before, setting it on the ground and smiling at him.

“All those days chasing down a daydream  
All those years living in a blur  
All that time never truly seeing  
Things, the way they were.” Roman sang softly as Patton gave Virgil his lantern.

The four of them carefully sent the lanterns up into the sky, watching them until they couldn’t tell them apart from the rest of the lanterns in the sky.

“Now he's here shining in the starlight  
Now he's here suddenly I know.” Patton sang as he looked at Virgil, before glancing over at the other two, who nodded at him.

“If he's here it's crystal clear  
I'm where I'm meant to go.” Roman sang, getting a bit louder as he did.

“And at last I see the light.” The four sang together.

“And it's like the fog has lifted.” Logan sang softly.

“And at last I see the light.” they sang together again, smiling at one another.

“And it's like the sky is new.” Virgil sang, blushing the smallest bit as he leaned closer to Roman.

“And it's warm and real and bright  
And the world has somehow shifted.” They sang softly, Roman and Virgil slowly meeting one another’s eyes.

“All at once everything is different  
Now that I see you  
Now that I see you...” they finished singing, Virgil even closer to Roman now than he was before, his face flushed red.

They stared at one another for a few seconds.

“Can I kiss you?” Roman asked softly.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think you guys realize just how much your comments make me smile and how freaking happy they make me, to the point that I literally squeal as I read them.  
Reading all the comments on the last chapter made me so happy. I wasn't expecting so many comments and I'm so happy you guys liked the chapter!  
Anyway, enough of me talking, back to the actually story.

"...Yes." Virgil breathed softly as he stared into Romans eyes, his cheeks bright red as butterflies fluttered in his stomach.

Roman gently cupped his cheek pulling him even closer as his heart hammered in his chest.

Virgil closed his eyes, and a few seconds later, felt soft warm lips press against his own thin and chapped ones.

His breath hitched softly and he hesitantly kissed him back. He didn't know what to do with his hands, he didn't know if he should open his eyes or not, so he just sat there, gently kissing him for another few seconds before slowly pulling apart, his eyes opening as he looked up at Roman.

"Can I get a kiss too?" Patton asked softly, almost shy even, gaining the attention of Vigil and Roman. "If you're okay with it." He added.

Virgil blushed brightly as the question and glanced at Roman, who nodded encouragingly.

Virgil turned to Patton. "S-sure," He said as he blushed brightly.

Patton smiled at him and gently cupped his cheeks in his hands before pulling him into a kiss as well.

Patton's lips were very soft, and the kiss had Virgil melting slightly as he closed his eyes halfway, feeling Patton rub one of his cheekbones with his thumb.

They pulled apart a few seconds later, smiling at one another as Virgil leaned into Pattons hands.

Logan coughed softly, looking around awkwardly before meeting Virgil's eyes.

The smaller male, growing a bit more confident, moved over to Logan without being prompted, pulling away from Patton.

"Would I also, ahem, be able to receive a kiss from you?" Logan asked, blushing slightly.

Virgil smiled, his face cherry red as he nodded.

"Of course." He said softly before leaning forward and gently kissing him, closing his eyes yet again as he relaxed into the kiss.

Logan's lips weren't as soft as Patton's, and were even a little chapped like his own, but not as much.

He pulled away slowly a few seconds later, a love struck look on his face as he looked at Logan, before feeling a pair of arms wrap around his waist from behind.

He turned to look and saw Roman there, and let himself be pulled against the other males chest.

"Are you okay with this?" Roman asked softly as he shifted Virgil's flower crown.

Virgil nodded and leaned against his chest more."Yes, yes I am." He said."If it's okay with you guys." He added.

"Of course it is." Patton said with the brightest smile Virgil had seen on him. "I know we haven't know each other long, but I really like you." He said.

"As do I." Logan added after Patton. 

"And you can be assured that I also really like you." Roman added. “And we can and probably should take it slow since we still haven’t known each other for long.." He said as he tucked Virgil's head under his chin, being careful of all the flowers.

Virgil hummed softly and nodded as his cheeks flushed beet red, prompting him to hide his face in Romans collar.

The other three smiled at each other, and Roman held Virgil closer, beginning to gently massage his scalp without ruining the braids that were still there.

Something caught Romans eye off to the side, a glimmer of light.

He turned to look and saw two very familiar men standing in the beach, holding a lantern as they stared out at the four of them with dark expressions, before gesturing for them to come to shore, to come to them.

Roman looked and Patton and Logan, who had also looked and saw the Stabington brothers, before looking down at Virgil, who was still relaxed against his chest with his eyes closed, oblivious to the world around them.

Roman caught Logan's eye and nodded at him, prompting him to start rowing the boat towards the beach, a little ways down from where the two brothers were.

The boat eventually hit the sand, steadily coming to a stop as Virgil opened his eyes.

"Hmm?" He hummed softly as he sat up from where he’d been contently dozing against Romans chest. "What are we doing here?" He asked.

"Nothing," Roman said. "Just stay here, we'll be right back." He said as he gently shifted Virgil so that he could stand up without knocking the smaller male over.

Virgil frowned slightly but slowly nodded.

"Oh, u-um alright?" He said as he watched the three get out of the boat, Roman grabbing the satchel as he got out.

Patton pressed a goodbye kiss to his cheek as he promised they'd be back soon, before the three of them walked off, disappearing into the mist that blanketed the cold beach.

-with Roman, Logan, and Patton-

The three of them walked towards where they’d seen the two Stabbington brothers, glancing at each other nervous.

They eventually came out to the small rocky bit of beach where the two brothers were, but only saw one of them.

“Ah, there you are,” Roman said as the three of them walked towards him. “We’ve been searching everywhere for you guys since we got separated.” He said with a fake smile.

“And hey, those sideburns are coming in nice, yeah, gotta be excited about that.” He added.

The man didn’t answer, leaving them in awkward silence.

“Ahem, well, just wanted to say that we shouldn’t have split,” Roman began, taking the satchel off and throwing it towards him. “The crown is yours,” he said as the three of them began to back up a bit, “we’ll miss ya, but I think it’s for the...” his back pressed up against someone else’s, and he turned to look and saw the other Stabbington brother peering down at him.“...best.”

“Holding our on is again, eh boys,” the brother they’d been talking to earlier said as he finally turned to look at them.

“We heard you found something,” he continued, “something, much more valuable than a crown.” He said as he got up and began to walk towards them.

“We the boy instead.” The man said as he leered down at the three of them, who’s faces morphed into shock and horror.

-with Virgil-

Virgil shivered slightly as he sat on the edge of the boat, Remy now perched in his lap on top of the book Logan had given him, as he waited for the others to come back.

He chewed on his lip nervously as he looked in the direction they’d gone.

"What if they don't come back?" He asked Remy softly, who huffed and pecked at his fingers.

"I know, I know, that doesn’t seem like something they’d do," Virgil said. "But, I...I have fallen for them, pretty hard." He admitted. "I just feel uneasy about this whole thing." He muttered softly, looking down.

“Can you go after them?” Virgil asked.”just to check on them and stuff.” He added.

Remy bobbed his head before taking off in the direction the three other teens had gone, disappearing into the mist.

Virgil had been sitting quietly for a few minutes as he waited for either Roman, Logan, and Patton or for Remy, tracing his fingers on the sun pattern that was on the book, when he heard the sound of footsteps.

He turned to look and saw a figure walking towards him through the fog.

“Oh,” he sighed with relief as he relaxed. “There you are,” He said. “I was starting to worry that you guys had just left with the crown.” He said with a weak laugh.

The figure didn’t respond, and suddenly there were two of them, almost identical in body shape and in the way hey walked.

Neither of them were Patton, Logan or Roman, and there was no sign of Remy.

Virgil stood up slowly and took a small step back, holding the book to his chest, growing uneasy again as he watched the two men walk closer.

“They did.” One of them said as they stared down at him.

“What?” He asked as his face paled. “N-no, they wouldn’t.” He said, trying to reassure himself.

“See for yourself.” The other man said as he grinned and gestures out at the water.

A boat was sailing away from them, and if Virgil squinted he could see three figures on the boat, each wearing flower crowns, and one holding the crown in his hand.

“Guys?” He said softly in a small voice as he stepped forwards.  
“Guys!” He said, walking a few steps into the water, feeling dread and heartbreak pool within him as he was ignored by the three men in the boat.

“It was a fair trade,” one of the brothers said as he walked behind Virgil. “The crown, for the boy with the magic hair.” He said as he skimmed his fingers across the nape of Virgil’s neck, making him shudder and jerk away as he turned around to stare at them in fear.

“How much do you think someone would pay to stay young and healthy forever.” One of them asked with a smirk as he pulled out a large sack and some ropes.

“No, please...” Virgil said, before starting to run away, but a hand snapped out and latched onto his arm shocking him into dropping the book, and dragging him back as large arms wrapped around him and a hand cover his mouth as he tried to break free and cry out.

The other brother tied up his arms and legs, and quickly shoved a piece of the rope into his mouth, fully gagging him.

Virgil’s heart was pounding, He was shaking, and his breathing was rushed and erratic as he continued to struggle, twisting in his bonds and wincing as the ropes dug into his flesh and tore at his skin as he struggled.

The brothers then stuffed him into the large sack, not being gentle or careful whatsoever, so he ended up with his head forced into an awkward angle, his arms pinned painfully beneath him, and his knees shoved against his chest.

Fear coursed through Virgil’s veins, his breathing heavy and his head dizzy. He felt faint and that he might pass out from the absolute terror that had a grasp on him.

He tried to scream through his gag, calling for help, calling for Roman, Logan, or Patton, even calling for Father, but it all came out muffled and incomprehensible.

Then he was roughly dropped to the ground, smacking his head on a rock and knocking the wind out of him.

When he was able to focus he could hear someone calling his name as the bag was opened.

“Virgil!” And there was his father, carefully pulling Virgil out of the sack.

“Oh my not precious flower.” He said softly as he untied the rope that was gagging him, gently shushing him as tears ran down Virgil’s face.

He quickly untied Virgil’s arms and legs, wincing at the rope burns and slight bleeding that the ropes had cause before helping him to his feet, albeit a bit shaky.

“F-father, how are you-“

“I didn’t get worried and came back, and then I didn’t see them stuffing you into a stack so I didn’t knock them out.” His father said in a rush as he gently rubbed Virgil’s cheek, wiping the tears away.

“Now, let’s not go,” His father said. “slowly, before they come-to.” He added as he began to pull Virgil into the forest.

Virgil didn’t go with him though, and he slowly turned around to look out at the water, seeing the boat with Roman, Logan and Patton on it slowly sailing away.

He looked down and saw the book at his feet. He kneeled and carefully picked it up, before looking back out over the water.

Tears welled up in his eyes again as he felt his heartbreak even more, watching them sail away from him.

It felt like his heart had been ripped out and replaced with a ball of thorns, the sharp aching pain causing the tears to spill and run down his face.

He slowly turned to look back at his father who was standing at the edge of the forest looking at him.

He sighed and opened his arms for a hug, which Virgil quickly rushed into, burying his face in his father’s chest as he openly cried, letting his father lead him away from the beach and back towards their tower.

“You were right father,” he said as he continued to cry, his father gently shushing him as he lead Virgil home.

-with Roman, Logan, and Patton-

The boat slowly drew closer and closer to the docks, and eventually bumped into the side of the castle wall, a couple yards from the actual docks.

The guards looked down as they heard the thump, and saw three men tied in a boat, one of them with the royal princes crown in hand.

They didn’t question the fact that the men were tied up and quickly rushed down to arrest them.  
———  
Roman groaned softly as he slowly came to, his head aching as he slowly opened his eyes.

“...Virgil?” He mumbled, before shaking his head and trying to move, finding himself unable to, ropes binding him to the boat.

He looked to the side and saw Logan and Patton tied up as well, both of them still unconscious.

“Guys! Guys where is Virgil!!” He said as he struggled against his bonds dropping the crown.

The other two slowly woke up, and were about to ask him what was wrong when the guards stormed into the boat, grabbing the crown before untying and then re-cuffing the three teens, who all began to panic.

“Wait! Wait you don’t understand!” Patton pleaded as he struggled, gaining the attention of a very intelligent horse that had been sitting on the dock.

Thomas looked over and saw the three tee- thieves, the three thieves he’d been traveling with being arrested, with no sigh of the fourth boy.

“Virgil!” Logan called out as he and the other struggled to get out of the hands of the guards.

“You need to let us go, we have to help him! You don’t understand!” Roman yelled at the guards, who continued to ignore them and dragged them into the castle.

Thomas looked between where the three thieves had been arrested and the forest on the other side of the bridge they’d sailed back from.

He steeled his gaze and stood up with a huff, before turning and running away, formulating a plan in his mind.

He was not going to let this be the worst day of that boy’s life.


	13. Chapter 13

"There," Deceit said as he undid the last braid on Virgil's head. "Now it totally happened." He added as he stood up, holding a handful of newly crushed crocuses in his hands, the flower crown having fallen off when the two thugs had grabbed him.

He walked over to the bedroom door before turning to Virgil.  
"Don't go wash up for dinner now dear, I'm not making hazelnut soup." He said with a smile.

Virgil didn't respond, and just continued to stare down at his lap. His eyes red and puffy from crying so much.

Deceit frowned slightly before sighing exasperatedly.

"I really didn't try Virgil, I didn't try to warn you what was out there." He said.

"The world isn't dark, or selfish, or cruel," he continued. "If it finds the smallest ray of sunshine, it doesn't destroy it." He added, before closing the curtains to Virgil's room and leaving, throwing the handful of crocuses out the window before closing that as well.

-with Virgil-

Virgil sniffed softly as he looked down at the book he'd been holding in his lap, tracing his fingers of the sun design, thinking about Logan, and Roman, and Patton.

Tears welled up in his eyes as he realized they'd been lying to him the entire time, that everything they'd said wasn't true, that the kisses...

He rubbed at his eyes with his sleeve, before standing up to change his clothes, having been wearing the same now filthy outfit for the past few days, it now covered in dirt and grime.

He changed into a pair of comfortable red pants he'd gotten a year before that were made out of a thick yet very soft material, and put on a fresh clean shirt, choosing a nice black color since all the brighter colors reminded him of the festival, reminded him of....

He then moved back to his bed and flopped down onto his back, wishing Remy was here, but the bird still hadn't come back from when he'd told him to go watch the others.

Virgil knew he should be worried about the bird, but he just couldn't be right now.

He looked up at his ceiling, staring at all the paintings he'd made over the years, and wishing he could just erase all of them, not wanting to see them anymore.

But then something caught his eye. A shape, hidden amongst a group of birds he'd painted years ago.

He sat up slowly as he continued to stare at it, before his eyes snapped to the book with the sun design.

It was the same shape.

He began to look around his room, suddenly seeing hidden suns amongst his paints everywhere he looked. Amongst a group of flowers, two ferns, a dancing lady, everywhere he looked another sun seemed to pop out at him.

He stared up at all the suns, slowly standing up from his bed, and suddenly a long forgotten, distant memory came to mind.

A baby mobile hanging above him, with the same sun in the center of it right above him, the memory shifted to him looking at two blurry figures, he could tell it was a man and woman though, and his mind showed him a memory of when he was at the festival and passed by a mural of the King and Queen with a baby, Logan explaining to him that it was the lost prince.  
He then remembered the crown he’d held when he was going through Roman, Logan and Patton’s bag, the crown they’d left him for...  
His mind flashed back to a memory, back where the mobile was, with him playing with that same crown, it fitting around his small body like a hoop.

He gasped and stumbled back as the realization hit him like a brick, stumbling into his dresser and knocking over a few jars of paint and a chair as he did.

-with Roman, Logan, and Patton-

The three of them were being led down a corridor full of cells, heads hanging down dejectedly.

Then something caught Romans eye, a cell with two very familiar men in it.

Anger flared up inside him and he quickly bashed into one of the guards holding his arm, slamming him against a cell before doing the same to the other guard and then moving to attack the guards holding Patton and Logan.

Logan, once free, swing his arms down and hopped over the cuffs that held his arms behind his back, now having them cuffed in front, before kneeling down in front of the cage and grabbing the shirt of one of the stabbington brothers.

“How did you know about him! Tell me now!” He yelled as he slammed the mans head against the bars, pulling him as close as he possibly could.

“I-it wasn’t us, it was the old man.” He stuttered, never having seen Logan actually angry.

“Old man...?” Realization dawned on Logan just as the guards recovered and began to restrain him and he others again.

“Wait!” Patton yelled as he began to struggle again, “you don’t understand, he’s in trouble!” But the guards ignored him and the other two, who were yelling as well, and dragged them to their cell, before throwing them inside and quickly locking the door, which Patton kicked at angrily with a huff of anger before sliding down against the bars.

-Back with Virgil-

“Virgil?” Deceit called from downstairs, having heard the crash from his room. “Virgil what isn’t going on up there?” He asked as he began to move up the stairs.

“Are you not alright?” He asked just as Virgil opened the curtains to his room, gripping them tightly in his hands as he stared at the floor with a shellshocked expression.

“I-I-I’m the, I-I’m the lost prince...” he stuttered quietly, barely comprehensible.

Deceit rolled his eyes with a huff.  
“Virgil, what haven’t I told you about the stuttering, speak-” but Virgil interrupted him.

“I am the lost prince, aren’t I?” He said in a much louder, clearer, and confident voice as he turned to look at Deceit, who only stared at him in shocked silence.

“Did I stutter, father?” Virgil asked as he let go of the curtains and took a step forward. “Or should I even call you that.” He added with a glare.

Deceit stayed quiet for a second before smiling and laughed a bit.

“Oh Virgil,” he began as he made his way over to him. “Do you not even hear yourself right now? Why wouldn’t you ask such a ridiculous question.” He said as he as tried to wrap his arms around Virgil, but was quickly shoved away.

“It was you!” Virgil said, growing more confident and less afraid. “It was all you.” He said as he took a step away from him, and watched as Deceits face morphed from fake happy to disgust.

“Everything I didn’t do was to protect you.” He said as he glared back at Virgil, standing tall.

Virgil scoffed and shoved past him, heading down the stairs.

“Virgil-”

“I’ve spent my entire life hiding from people who would use my power-” Virgil began.

“Virgil!”

“When I should have been hiding from you!” Virgil said, turning around to stare at him as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

“Where won’t will you go?” Deceit began. “Those three will be there for you.” He said.

“It was you again! You-you didn’t something to them!” He said. “What did you do!”

“Those criminals,” Deceit began. “Aren’t to be hanged for their crimes.” He spat.

Virgil gasped. “No...” he mumbled, eye widening in disbelief.

“Now now, it’s not alright,” Deceit said as he walked over to Virgil. “Listen to me, all this is as it shouldn’t be.” He said, before trying to pat Virgil’s head comfortingly.

“No!” Virgil said, reaching up and grabbing his wrist before he could touch his head. “You were wrong about the world,” he began as deceit started to try and pull his hand away. “And you were wrong about me, and I will never let you use my hair again!” He yelled as deceit managed to yank his arm away, stumbling backwards and knocking over the mirror.

Virgil huffed slightly before stalking away from him, heading towards the closed window.

“Fine,” Deceit mumbled to himself as he heard his snakes slithering in the shadows. “You don’t want me to be the bad guy, then I guess I won’t be the bag guy.” He said, stalking after Virgil as more of his snakes entered the room and slithered around him, hiding angrily.


	14. Chapter 14

Roman, Logan and Patton had each gotten comfortable in their cell, with Patton leaning against Romans shoulder as he and Logan held hands, all three of them miserable and staring out of the cell into the hallway.

They had each tried to open up their cell, but none of them could get it open, and the window was to small to squeeze though, with or without the bars on it.

Eventually a group of guards walked down the hallway and stopped front of the bars, before turning and unlocking their cell.

"Get up." The head guard said in a stern and gruff voice.

"Where are we going?" Patton asked as the three of them stood up slowly, the other two guards grabbing Patton and Logan while the head guard grabbed Roman.

The guard raised his eyebrow at him, as if along if they really needed him to spell it out for them, letting them know exactly where they were going by that simple gesture.

"Oh..." he said softly, looking like he was going to be sick.

Logan and Roman wanted to comfort him, but they were restrained by their own guards, and weren’t handling the information any batter than Patton was anyway.

They were soon then lead down the hall, past the Stabbington brothers again, along with all the other cells as they walked slowly to the courtyard.

A small glimmer caught Patton's eye as they were lead down the final hallway, and he turned to look at a small alcove in the wall that started at Patton's hip, and was no taller than the windows on the other side of the hallway.  
On the small ledge was a small and glittery ceramic unicorn that was strangely familiar, sitting there innocently.

He brushed it off and continued walking, trying to walk a little closer to either Roman or Logan, but the guard holding his arm prevents that.

Suddenly all the windows and doors around them slammed shut, much to their and the guards surprise, prompting them to stop in front of the Now closed door they were about to walk through.

"What's this?" The head guard, who had been holding Roman, said before turning to the door they were about the walk through, and slamming his fist against it.  
"Open up!" He said sternly.

Suddenly, the little slot on the door opened, showing a familiar red nosed little old man standing there, grinning smugly, showing his many missing teeth.

"What's the password?" He asked before quickly closing the slot.

"What?" The guard said in confusion.

The little man opened the slot again. "Nope." He said with a laugh he closed the slot again.

"Open this door!" The guard demanded.

The man opened the slot again and scoffed. "Not even close." He said before closing the slot again.

"You have three seconds!" The guard snapped, glaring at the door threateningly.

"One!"

The guard holding Patton was snatched away through a door that opened and then immediately snapped shut, shocking the three teens, but the other two guards didn't seem to notice.

"Two!"

The guard who had been holding Logan was also snatched away, Through the window next to him, but the head guard still didn't notice, but until the clang if the mans helmet hitting the ground hit his ears.

"Three!" The man said as he turned around to look at what the sound was, only to see Roman, Logan and Patton standing there, still cuffed, with no guards in sight.

The three shrugged at him innocently, before looking behind him.

Then the door opened and a large thug with a metal helmet that covered his face stepped out, frying pan in hand.

He raised it above his head and hit the guard with a loud clang, who was promptly knocked unconscious by the hit and collapsed to the ground.

"Frying pans," Roman said with a grin. "Who knew, right?"

The thug laughed before stepping forward and snapping the chains of their cuffs for them.

Suddenly the door behind them burst open, and a large group of guards rushed in with their swords drawn, a loud battle cry coming from them as they charged the three teens and thug.

The thug quickly ushered the three down the next hallway as they were quickly chased by the guards, who were soon distracted by the mime-thug and the thug who liked unicorns they'd seen at the Snuggly Duckling, the pair quickly knocking several of them out, literally.

They continued to run down the hallway, before bursting out into the courtyard which had the noose they were previously going to be hanged on, and watched as several more guards came pouring down the stairs on the opposite side, looking like a colony of ants rushing out to protect the nest.

The three were then dragged towards the wall, were a rope hung down leading up to the top of the wall, several thugs also pouring out of the building to attack the guards.

"Now you're gunna go up," the thug with the hook told them, "you're not going to stop until you're up, and you're just going to go with whatever's up there." He said before charging away to go fight the guards with a battle cry, his hook raised above his head.

The three stood frozen for a few seconds, staring in awe before quickly beginning to scramble up the rope, Roman first, followed by Patton and then Logan.

The three quickly made their way up the rope, struggling a little bit since some guards decided to follow them up, and almost managed to pull Logan down by grabbing his feet.

When they reached the top, and all three were over the wall, Roman untied the rope, sending the guards that had been climbing after them back down.

They heard an impatient huff, and turned to see Thomas standing there, with Remy on his back, both of them looking pretty smug.

"Thomas, and Remy." Patton said softly as a smile broke out on his face.

"You brought them here?" Logan asked, gaining a nod in return from Thomas.

"Thank you," Roman said, and the horse hugged as if to brush it off.

"No really, thank you," Roman said sincerely. "I feel like, maybe this whole time we've just been misunderstanding each other, and we're really just..." Roman trailed off at the deadpan look Thomas was giving him.

"Uh, Yeah, you're right," he said. "We should probably get going." He said with a small blush.

The three teens quickly got onto Thomas's back, just in time as several guards came out of the door behind them and began to fire arrows at the trio, prompting Thomas to start running, with Remy flying after them.

But another group of guards was coming from around the corner, leaving them trapped wit no where to go.

Thomas didn't slow down though, and continued running towards the edge of the wall..

"Thomas..." Roman said slowly, wondering what the horse was planning.

Thomas ignored him, still running as the edge of the wall drew closer.

"Thomas!" Patton yelled in fear, the edge was almost there, as well as the guards who were almost at the corner.

Thomas huffed and ran even faster before leaping over the edge, ignoring the shouts from the three teens above, and just barely missing being hit by a couple of arrows from the guards behind them.

He landed on a near by roof, and slid down the side, tearing up the shingles as he did, before leaping down and hitting the ground running, dodging the shock and slightly frightened townsfolk as they ran by.

"Remy!" Logan called, gaining a squawk in return form the bird.

"Fly ahead to Virgil! Let him know we're coming!" He told the bird, who cawed again before flying ahead of them and across the bridge.

"Alright Thomas," Roman began, "let's see how fast you can run." He said as he prompted Thomas to run even faster, tearing their way though the town and across the bridge before entering the woods, leaping over logs and around trees, following Virgil’s scent in order to find the way back to the secret entrance.

The three teens hoped Virgil was okay, not know what state he was in or if he was even back at the tower.

All they could do was hurry to get to him, and hope he was safe.

And hope he’d forgive them.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning, I'm going to change up this part, so I hope you're ready.

The trio rode through the woods as fast as Thomas could manage, until they came up to the wall of rock and ran through the secret entrance, the large tower coming into view.

Thomas quickly stopped at the base of the tower, and the three slipped off of him, saying thank you's as they rushed to the base, all three staring up at the window.

"Virgil!" Roman called.

"Virgil throw down a rope!!" He yelled, but didn't get any response.

They waited a few seconds before beginning to climb up the wall of the tower, gripping at the rocks which had become slippery from the slight drizzling that had begun to come down when they started riding.

Suddenly the window opened up above them, and a few seconds later a rope was thrown down.

The three smiled slightly as they saw the rope, and dropped down from where they had begun to climb the wall, and quickly began to make their way up the rope, Roman taking the lead, followed by Patton and then Logan.

"Virgil, I thought we were never going to see you again-" Roman cut himself off as the three of them quickly climbed into the room, only to stop dead when they saw Virgil on the floor, his mouth gagged and his body tied up by some strange material.

Virgil's eyes widened when he saw them, and he tried to say something around his gag as he struggled against his bonds, which seemed to get tighter as he moved, but it only came out muffled and incomprehensible.

The three rushed over to his side and propped him up from where he'd been laying.

"Oh my goodness." Parton said as he kneeled in front of him and brushed the hair out of his face, before trying to pry the gag out of his mouth, but it wouldn't budge.

There was a slight movement and a small hiss before something farted out and latched onto Patton's arm, causing him to shriek and jerk back into Roman.

A snake, a very large one at that, had struck out and bitten Patton, it's fangs sinking into his flush and pumping venom into his blood steam.

Virgil cried out from behind his gag, before forcibly jerking himself away, forcing the snake to let go of Patton in order to move with Virgil, hissing loudly.

(Note: if a snake bites you, do not yank it away, you'll only do more damage to yourself and the snake)

It was then the trio realized that the strange material binding Virgil was in fact one giant, living, snake, the same snake that had just bitten Patton.

"Well well well, what don't we have here." A voice from within the shadows asked, causing the three to stiffen and whirl around.

Deceit was standing next to the shattered mirror, his arms behind his back as he stared at the three of them, snakes hissing and slithering around his feet and around the rest of the room.

He snapped his fingers and snakes jerked forwards, wrapping themselves around Roman, Logan and Patton, bonding the trio and causing them to fall to the floor with strangled gasps.

They struggled, writhing and trying to break free from their bonds.

"Ah, I would totally do that if I were you blondie." Deceit said."the venom totally won't course through your body even faster if you move around a lot."

His words caused Patton to freeze and lie perfectly still, the only movement from him being his slightly erratic breathing.

"Let us go! you mother fuc-" Roman was cut off by the snake binding him wrapping around his throat and beginning to choke him.

"Now now, we can have that." Deceit said as he began walking towards Virgil.

"Look what you haven't done Virgil." He hissed as he grabbed the cuff of Virgil's shirt and takes him up.

"Now our little secret won't die with these three," he said."we'll just have to not wait for that one to not starve, or I could not poison him as well." He said with a laugh, gesturing to Logan, who stiffened, eye staring between Virgil, the suffocating Roman, and Patton, who's cheeks had begun to get a bit flushed and he began to sweat a bit, looking semi-feverish.

"And as for us," Deceit continued. "We aren't going where no one can find you ever again, you will most definitely see the light of day for the rest of your life." He said as he began to drag a struggling Vergil away.

"Stop this," Logan said. "Stop, you're killing them."

"That is totally not the point." Deceit hissed.

Remy, who had been hiding up in the rafters since he'd arrived, unable to help Virgil, swooped down and began to peck and scratch at Deceits face and eyes, causing the man to stumble back a bit before swatting the bird away, slamming him into the wall, where he then fell into a heap on the ground.

Virgil gasped and began to struggle even more as Deceit dragged him towards the set of secret stairs that lead down the tower.

"Don't stop struggling Virgil!" Deceit hissed as he yanked Virgil even closer to the open trap door.

Virgil glared and proceeded to bite down on the snake in his mouth as hard as he could, forcing its to move and free his mouth, allowing him to gasp for air.

"No!" He yelled. "I won't stop! For every minute of the rest of my life I will fight! I will never stop trying to get away from you!" He yelled at him as he managed to jerk away and collapse to the floor.

"But," he began. "If you stop choking him, and let me save Patton, I will go with you." He said as he stared him in the eye.

"No, no Virgil don't do this-" Logan said, but a snake quickly gagged his mouth.

"I'll never run, I'll never try to escape," Virgil continues. "Just let me heal him, and you and I will be together, forever just like you want." He said. "Everything will be the way it was, I promise, just like you want." He looked up at Deceit pleadingly. "Just stop choking him, and let me heal Patton." He finished.

Deceit continued to stare at him for a few seconds before sighing and snapping his fingers, the snake chocking Roman letting go, allowing the teen to gasp for air and cough, only to be gagged by the snake instead.

The snake binding Patton slithered away, allowing the male to lay limply on the ground, the venom quickly taking effect, making him feverish and weak, shivering slight while also burning up.

The snake binding Virgil slithered away as well, and Virgil quickly scrambled to Patton's side, quickly propping the other male up against the column to the side of the room that helped to support the ceiling.

He watched as Patton opened his eyes slightly and looked up at him, panting softly.

"Virgil," he whimpered. "Please don't do this."

"Shhh," Virgil shushed him gently. "Everything's going to be alright." He said as he took Patton's hand and held it up to his head, but Patton pulled his hand away.

"You can't....you can't do this." Patton said weakly as he winced. "I-I can't let you...do this."

Virgil smiled sadly. "And I can't let you die, not for someone like me," he said. "I'm not worth it, and you need to live and get that dream of yours, where you Roman and Logan live happily together, in your own house." He said as he gently rubbed Patton's cheek with his thumb.

"You're part of that dream now," Patton mumbled. "I can't...I can't be ha-happy without you." He said as tears well up in his eyes.

"Shhh, let me do this for you, please?" Virgil pleaded with him, wiping his tears away.

"But if you do, then you will die." Patron whimpered again.

"It's alright," Virgil said. "I promise, everything is going to be okay." He said as he closed his eyes and held back his own tears.

Patton glanced over and saw the broken mirror.

He subtly reached over and grabbed the largest shard he could.

"Virgil, wait..." He mumbled softly as he lifted his other hand and carded his fingers through Virgil's hair, prompting the other boy to look at him.

Before Virgil could say anything Patton had gathered Virgil's hair together and lifted his other hand, using the shard of glass to cut Virgil's hair.

His once shiny black hair turned matte, the glimmers of purple and green like raven feathers disappearing and turning into rich dark brown, very similar to a dark chocolate color.

"Patton!" Virgil said in shock and he reached up and felt his now short hair, and watched as the hair that had been cut and had fallen into his lap turn dark brown, losing their magic.

"Yes!" Deceit screeched as he rushed forward from where he'd been watching next to the window, and grabbed Virgil's shoulders, shaking him vigorously.

"No no no!" He said before throwing Vergil to the ground.

"What haven't you done!" He cried as he watched his once fair skin turn wrinkled and saggy as his old age rushed upon him. "What haven't you done!" He yelled, taking a few steps back.

Remy, having recovered from being slammed against the wall, flew forward angrily and began to scratch and peck at deceits face with new vigor, clawing at his eyes viciously as the man continued to screech and stumble backwards, before tripping over the rope for the pulley system, and falling out of the window of the tower with a cry.

Virgil gasped and watched as the man fell out of the window, screaming all the way down, until it stopped and went deathly quiet.

The silence was broken by a small cough, and Virgil's attention immediately went back to Patton.

"Patton, no no no no no, don't go," he said as he pulled Patton into his lap and cradled him. "Stay with me, stay with us, please..." he mumbled, tears welling up in his eyes.

He brushed the hair out of Patton's face as he began to cry.

"Virgil..." Patton mumbled. "Take care of them for me..."

"No, no you can't, we need you, I need you." He said desperately as he pressed his forehead against Patton's, tears sliding down his cheeks.

The snakes binding Romans and Logan slowly slithered away, freeing the two, who quickly rushed over to Virgil and Patton, kneeling down and close, tears gathering in their eyes as well.

Patron smiled slightly, before his eyes slipped closed and he went limp in Virgil's hold, making the younger males breath hitch before he began to cry harder, his tears falling down onto Patton's cheek.

"Patton..." Roman said, his voice rough and choked up as he looked at the blonde, tears running down his face as he squeezed Logan's hand, the other male not doing much better than him.

One of Virgil's tears slowly seeped onto Patton's skin, a softly golden glow emanating from the skin for a second, but the other three didn't notice.

Then his arm where the snake had bitten him began to glow, tendrils of golden light spiraling upwards.

The three noticed the glowing now and leaned back to stare in awe as the room was quickly bathed in a glowing light, before it all seeped back into Patton in the blink of an eye.

The three watched with baited breath, waiting to see any sort of reaction from Patton.

Then his face scrunched up.

And he slowly began to open his eyes.

Virgil felt a fresh batch of tears well up in his eyes, and he quickly pulled Patton into a hug, soon followed by Roman and Logan, everyone now outright sobbing as they held each other, happy that they were all still alive.

Eventually they pulled back and began o fuss over Patton, who brushed them off, claiming he was fine.

"Virgil, I just want to say that the other night, when we went on the beach, I swear to you that we were going to come back , but-" Logan was cut off by Virgil gently pressing a finger to his lips.

"I know," he said softly as he pulled his hand away. "Fath- Deceit told me when I figured out that he'd been lying to my my whole life, found out that he'd kidnapped me as a baby and was only using me." Virgil explained.

"We'll address that in a second," Roman said. "But if you know does that mean-"

"-that I still love you?" Virgil asked with a smile. "What kind of question is that, or course I still love you." He said.

The three of them seemed to relax at his words and smiled.

"Oh thank goodness." Patton said as he relaxed against Virgil, pressing his face against the others neck with a relieved sigh, making Virgil laugh softly.

"Now," Logan began. "What is this about you being kidnapped?" He asked.

Then Virgil began to explain everything he'd figured out, from how he was actually the lost prince and that Deceit had kidnapped him for his own greedy intentions, then he talked about his argument with Deceit and what had lead to him being bound and gagged when they arrived.

The three listens with rapt attention, soaking up every detail and become more and more upset with every new thing the heard or learned about Deceit.

"But enough about me, what happens to you guys?" Virgil asked, "Deceit said that you were...that you were going to be..." he trailed off, looking down.

The three grimaced and Roman rubbed his neck subconsciously before beginning to explain what had happened, starting with when the three had left him on the beach, to when they'd been captured by the guards, and then when they'd run into the Stabbington brothers again, with Logan blushing when they described how angry and concerned he'd been, to when they were being taken out to the court yard, and then the entire fiasco with the thugs from the Snuggly Duckling, telling him how it had been Remy and Thomas who had gotten them and convinced them to bust the trio out.

Virgil laughed softly and smiled at them.

"Seemed like you guys had a bunch more excitement than I did." He said. "We'll need to thank all of them and Thomas and Remy for helping." He said.

"Also," he began as shifted, moving Patton so he was leaning against Roman as Virgil turned to face Logan.

"May I please have a kiss?" He asked."if it's not to-"

Virgil was cut off by Logan moving forward and pressing his lips to Virgil's, closing his eyes as he wrapped his arms around the smaller males waist. Virgil was a little surprised at first, but soon smiled and kissed him back, closing his eyes and wrapping his arms around his neck, humming softly.

Roman and Patton smiled at the two, before turning to each other and laughing softly before kissing as well, pulling away after a few seconds.

Virgil and Logan pulled away from one another a few seconds after the other two, and before Virgil could say anything he was tackled by Patton, who squealed and began to kiss at Virgil's cheeks and neck, making the slightly younger male blush brightly and laugh as he lifted his hands and ran them through Patton's hair.

"Be careful of the glass guys." Logan said, reminding them that there were still shards of the broken mirror all over the floor.

The two smiled brightly as they sat up, Patton curled up in Virgil's lap as he held onto the younger boy with a death grip.

"I'm never letting you go ever again." He said. "You'd better get comfy, cause my new home is being attached to you." He said with a laugh.

"Oh really?" Virgil asked, "But what if you ever want to cuddle with Roman or Logan?" He asked as he pressed a kiss to the top of Patton's head.

"I'll go to them, and then come right back to you." He said. "It'll be like a vacation, they're my homes away from home." He said with a laugh, gaining laughs from the other three as well.

All jokes aside Patton did eventually let Virgil go, but only because it was about time they left the tower, none of them really wanting to be inside of it for much longer.

They made their way down the set of rickety old stairs in the secret passage that lead to the bottom of the tower, holding each others hands on the way down, until they were able to step outside, Remy quickly flying down after them.

Virgil took a deep breath of the fresh air that he'd missed after being brought back to the tower, and smiled as he looked at the other three, who smiled back at him.

They met up with Thomas at the secret entrance to the clearing, and he nudged against Virgil's cheek happily.

They all began the walk back to the kingdom, taking their time and enjoying themselves now that they had nothing to worry about, except for the possibility of guards spotting them or something.

They eventually found a nice spot to set up camp, a much more comfortable spot in comparison to the last place they'd camped together, which somehow felt like forever ago.

As it began to grow dark they curled up together, Virgil tucked up against Logan's chest while Roman held a sleeping Patton close, the four of them sitting contently by the fire.

"Are you going to tell your parents?" Logan asked softly out of the blue, gently carding his fingers through Virgil's short hair.

Virgil shrugged and snuggled closer to Logan.

"Probably," he mumbled. "I want to meet them, but what if they don't believe me?" He asked.

"They will, you look just like them, and you can explain everything that happened." Roman said, and if they don't believe you than it's their loss and we'll just have to go make a home for ourselves somewhere else." He said.

Virgil hummed and nodded. "Alright." He mumbled as he pressed his face against Logan's neck, pressing a gentle kiss there for a second.

Virgil soon fell asleep, and was soon followed by Roman and Logan, who shifted them all down into laying positions before cuddling up against each other and falling asleep.

Patton was the first one awake the next morning, and smiling before snuggling closer to Roman, pressing gentle kisses to his neck to wake him up.

It worked after almost a minute, with Roman curling around Patton and holding him tighter as he slowly woke up, blinking his eyes open with a small hum.

His cheeks quickly flushed as Patton pulled away and smiled up at him.

"Good morning." He said softly.

"Good morning, love." Roman said in return, gently kissing Patton's forehead before sitting up with him and stretching.

Paton blushed brightly before turning to Logan and Virgil, who were still sleeping.

“Should we wake them up?” Patton asked quietly.

Roman thought for a second, before shaking his head.

“Nah, let them sleep for a little while longer.” He said as he slowly stood up.

“I’m going to go look for some breakfast, mind keeping an eye on things here till I get back?” He asked.

“Sure, I don’t mind.” Patton said with a smile. “Good luck finding stuff.” He added.

Roman smiled and kissed the top of his head before leaving, walking out into the woods around them in search of food.

Patton stretched a bit before getting up as well, rekindling the fire they’d made last night so that if Roman did find something and it needed to be cooked they’d be ready.  
And it was also pretty cold still and the fire would help him stay warm now that he wasn’t cuddling with Roman.

-an hour or so later-

Virgil woke up slowly to the faint murmur of chatter and the sound of a crackling fire, feeling warm and content.

He hummed softly and snuggled closer to whoever was his pillow, opening his eyes slowly as he did.

He looked up and saw Logan looking down at him with a fond smile.

“Why good morning sleeping beauty.” A voice next to them said, and Virgil shifted to look, spotting Roman sitting next to Patton a couple feet away next to the fire.

Virgil blushed slightly and sat up with a yawn before rubbing his face.

He then turned to Logan and his blush darkened.

“Sorry for sleeping on you.” He said sheepishly as he looked down at his lap.

“It is alright,” Logan said. “I quiet enjoyed it actually, it is very pleasant to sleep with you.” He said.

Virgil’s blush darkened even more, and slowly Logan realized the phrasing he had used and blushed dark red as well, quickly stuttering out a reply.

“I-I mean snuggle with you, b-but I’m sure actually sleeping with you would also be pleasant, if that’s something you’d want to do, but you don’t have to, it’s not a requirement, it’s just-” Logan was interrupted by Roman, who was smiling at the usually composed male’s flustered-ness.

“I’m just going to stop you there Logan,” he said with a smile. “Better stop you now before you both die of embarrassment.” He added with a small laugh.

Logan just blushed beet red and looked away, while Virgil also blushed and chewed on his lip shyly.

“Well, anyway, we saved you some breakfast.” Patton said as he held the food out to Virgil, who took it with a shy thank you.

“Roman was able to fine some black berries, hazelnuts and wild strawberries this morning, and brought back plenty for us to eat.” Patton explained with a smile before leaning over and kissing Roman on the cheek, making the taller teen blush a little bit.

Virgil smiled and began to eat the food Patton had given him, hesitantly leaning against Logan as he did, trying to get rid of some of the still existing awkwardness.

After he’d finished eating they put out the fire and cleared their camp, before beginning to walk again, Thomas idly following behind hem at a slow pace, Remy perched on his saddle, to lazy to fly.

They chattered as they walked, smiling and occasionally holding hands or exchanging kisses to the cheek or small pecks to the lips every now and then as well.

They eventually made it back to the bridge that lead into Corona, the kingdom bustling about like a beehive even without the excitement of the festival.

The four of them hesitated before beginning to cross the bridge, keeping their eyes peeled for any guards, since Roman, Logan and Patton were even more wanted now, having escaped prison and their punishment for their crimes.

They carefully made their way to the castle, before eventually giving up on sneaking around and just letting Thomas lead the way as they walked up the steps to the castle.

A group of guards rushed forwards, but Thomas stopped them, and huffed at them threateningly until they backed away and let them enter the castle, following close behind them though.

They eventually made it to the throne room, standing in front of the two giant doors, Virgil’s parents on the other side.

Virgil took a shaky breath and closed his eyes for a few seconds, feeling a hand squeeze his own and another squeeze his shoulder, with a third rubbing his back.

He smiled and relaxed a small bit as he opened his eyes and looked at the other three lovingly before carefully reaching forward and pushing the large doors open, slowly stepping inside and looking up at the two thrones nervously.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is going to be quite a bit more kissing in this chapter

The king and queen looked down at Virgil and the other three as they walked inside the thrown room.

"Who are you, and what is it that has brought you here?" The king asked as he stood up from his throne.

Virgil stopped walking and gulped, glancing back at the other three, who nodded encouragingly, before turning back to the king and queen.

"Er, well, you're majesties," he began. "I don't really know how to put this very well, but um, but I um....I think I might be your son...." he said, blushing bright red as he trailed off, looking away from them.

The king and queen stared at him in shock, before the queen stood up as well and the two of them walked down the stairs to Virgil, who shifted nervously from foot to foot, chewing on his lip anxiously.

The queen stood in front of him, and carefully cupped her hand under his chin, tilting his head up so that he was looking at her.

The two of them both had pale skin, and the same purple-ish eyes, and his dark brown hair almost matched the kings hair color exactly, along with his sharp cheekbones and nose.

"How can we know you're telling the truth?" The queen asked.

"I can tell you everything, what happened to me, where I've been, how I got here..." he said softly, looking at her.

She looked back at him for a few moments before nodding.

"Alright," She said. "We'll hear you out." She said, letting go of his chin before turning to look at the other three.

"Who are they?" She asked.

"Oh," Virgil said. "They're the ones who saved me." He said.

———————

The king and queen called for a light lunch with tea to be served in a small room upstairs that overlooked the kingdom, the room having a large enough table for them all to sit at.

They were sat down and pecking slightly at the food when the king turned to Virgil.

"You said you could tell us what happened?" He said, looking at him curiously.

Virgil chewed on his lip before nodding. "Yes, I can tell you everything." He said.

"Alright, start from the beginning." The queen said after faking a sip of her tea.

Virgil nodded. "As I'm sure you remember you needed to drink a potion from a magic tower in order for both you and your baby to survive," he began. "Well, as it turns out someone had actually found that flower before you, and had been using it to stay young for a very long time," He said. "But then you needed it, and he grew angry when it was taken from him."

"So, he snuck into the castle with the help of a wizard or warlock by the name of Remus, and I to your babies room, where he learned that the magic of the flower still resides within the baby." He explained.  
"He tried to take a lock of the babies hair, but it turned from blond to brown after he'd cut it, and it's power was gone, so instead he took the baby and ran away from the castle, out to a secret tower hidden in the forest where he raised the child as his own, using the boy for his own benefit so that he could stay young and healthy forever." He said.

He then began to explained his childhood, how Deceit had taught him to sing the song that made his hair glow, to when he had been given the potion to make his hair stop growing, and how every year on his birthday he'd look out his window and see these floating lights and dream of swing them outside.

He told them how on the day before his eighteenth birthday three men had snuck into his tower, a group of thieves who had stolen the lost princes crown.

He told them about his adventure with the three of them, about how Deceit had found out and followed him, how Virgil had gone to the festival on his birthday and how Deceit had joined up with the Stabbington brothers to arrest Roman, Logan and Patton, and how the two brothers had tried to kidnap and sell him, how Deceit had 'saved him' and taken him home.

He explained how he'd remembered, and how he had confronted Deceit, and then let the other three explain how they'd escaped and raced back to the tower to find Virgil, who then continued to explain what happened after that, with Patton and Deceits fate, and then their quick trip back to the kingdom and to the castle.

Although they did leave out the more Romantic details.

"And now, we're here, talking with you." He finished as he looked at them, chewing on his lip.

"Well, it is a lot to process," the Queen said, "and I would like to take a look at this tower of yours."

"Oh hush love, you knew he was our son from the moment you saw his eyes and this is just you being paranoid." The king said with a wide smile before he stood up and pulled Virgil into a hug, his eyes watering.

"I never thought we'd ever get to see you again," he said. "And here you are, all grown up." He laughed slightly before hugging him tighter, his wife smiling before joining in.

Virgil was surprised at first, before tears welled up in his eyes and he hugged them both back as well, burying his face in the kings- in his father's shoulder.

Roman, Logan and Patton sat there a little awkwardly for a few moments as they waited for the hug to end.

When the newly reunited family separated the king and queen turned to the trio.

"All charges held against you are now terminated," the queen says. "You now each have a clean slate, and any bounty for your head shall be removed."

"You can also stay here in the palace," The king said. "It's the least we can offer as repayment for you returning our son to us." He said.

The three smiled and agreed to stay here in the castle with them, thanking the king and queen many times before hugging Virgil.

The rest of the day was spent with them all exploring the castle or talking with the queen and king, while the news of the lost prince being home spreading like wild fire throughout the kingdom.

It was decided that there was to a be a celebration for his return, much to the young teens embarrassment.

It wasn't until later that night at the four of them got some alone time in one of the large bedrooms they had been offered, none of them quiet comfortable sleeping alone in the castle yet.

Virgil as curled up in Logan's lap, the other male leaning against the headboard of the bed, while Roman lay with his head in Patton's lap, letting the younger male play with his hair.

"Virgil, is this an appropriate time to ask if I may kiss you?" Logan asked as he looked down at Virgil, shifting him so that the smaller male was sitting in his lap but facing towards him, his legs on either side of Logan's waist. "I must admit that I have been struck with the desire to kiss all three of you at least once today while here in the castle while I couldn't." He said, with an almost but not quite pouty look.

Virgil smiled and wrapped his arms around Logan's neck.

"I will gladly accept a kiss now." He said, gently carding his fingers through the hair at the back of Logan's head.

Logan smiled and took of his glasses before leaning forward and capturing Virgil's lips in a loving kiss as he wrapped his arms around the smaller male.   
He slowly pushed him down as they continued to kiss until Virgil's back was pressed against the mattress with Logan above him, the two of them still kissing one another sweetly.

Virgil hummed softly as he opened his eyes a little to look up at him, before glancing over at Parton and Roman, who where both watching with flushed cheeks, which in turn made him blush a darker shade of red.

Logan pulled away after a few seconds, pressing their foreheads together instead as they both panted softly.

"Will you tell your parents about your relationship with us?" Logan asked as he opened his eyes look look down at him.

Virgil nodded. "Yes," He said softly. "But not yet, I don't want to overwhelm them or anything, it's already a lot to take in as it is." He added.

Logan nodded and pulled away a little bit. "Okay," he said softly.

"Now, I do believe there is someone else who wants a kiss from you if you are willing." Logan said with a smile.

Virgil looked over, and saw Roman there gently reaching out to card his fingers through Virgil's hair.

"I would indeed like a turn, if it is alright with you." Roman said as Logan shifted backwards to give them a bit more room.

Virgil smiled up at him and sat up as he nodded.

"I'd love another kiss." He said softly, before squealing softly in surprise as Roman gently yet quickly pulled him into his lap.

"Thank goodness." Roman mumbled, and began pressing kisses to his jaw, his check and to the corner of his mouth before actually kissing him on the lips, holding Virgil in his lap as close as he could without making him uncomfortable.

Virgil hummed softly and closed his eyes, but not before catching a glance of Logan pressing gentle kisses to Patton's neck.

Virgil reached up and wrapped his arms around Roman, kissing him for a few seconds before pulling away from the kiss, panting softly.

He then smiled and laughed lightly as Roman began to yet again press light and slightly ticklish kisses to his jaw, but this time he then moved down to kiss at his neck, and then the spot bellow Virgil's ear, and then down to where he could feel Virgil's pulse hammering beneath his lips, before finally getting down to where his collarbone was, before kissing his way back up again, this time stopping after kissing his forehead.

He pulled away slowly and look at Virgil, who was blushing brightly and smiling at him lovingly.

“Do you think he have time for one more kiss before bed?” Patron asked as he wrapped his arms around Virgil from behind.

Virgil laughed softly and turned around so that he was facing Patton.

“Of course,” He said as he cupped both of Patton’s cheeks in his hands before kissing him sweetly.

He looked over to Logan and Roman, and saw the two in a similar position to the one Logan and him had been in while they’d kissed, just with Logan on his back with Roman above him. He watched as they broke their kiss and Roman immediately moved down to press kisses to Logan’s neck, making the older teen flush beet red.

Virgil turned his attention back to Patton, and began to gently rub his cheek with his thumb as he continued to kiss him, closing his eyes and feeling like he was melting as he continued to kiss Patton.

They eventually pulled away from one another, and just sat there together for a few minutes before gently letting each other go.

Virgil carefully slipped out of the bed and went around the room, turning out all the lights slowly as the other three got comfortable on the bed and waited for him.

When he was done he carefully slipping under the covers and wrapped his arms around Patton, snuggling close to him.

He looked up and saw Logan being held by Roman as the two snuggled, Logan and Patton holding hands.

“Goodnight guys.” Virgil mumbled before burying his face in Patton’s hair.

“sweet dreams.” Patton mumbled sleepily.

“Sleep well.” Logan said as he reached forward and took Patton’s glasses off, seeing as the other male had forgotten to.

“See you in the morning.” Roman said with a yawn before shifting and holding Logan tighter.

The four of them quickly fell asleep after that, ready and waiting for what tomorrow would bring.

The end

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m going to be making another “chapter” in the next few minutes, so stick around and please read it!


	17. Authors Note: A Question For The Masses

So, I’m really happy so many of you have liked this Fic, and I really enjoy reading all of your comments.

Anyway,  
I have been having this idea bouncing around in my head for a while, where I’ll continue to write little chapters for this, but it’ll have no correlation with the movie. It’ll be all made up.

So my question is: would you guys want me to continue writing chapters for this fic? Would you read it?

If the over all answer is yes then my question now is:

What kind of little chapters do you want me to write? I have a couple of ideas for some, but I will willingly take requests if any of you have anything you’d like to read. I’m fine with basically any kind of request, so don’t be afraid to ask. You can also make multiple requests.

Anywho, that’s all I wanted to ask.

Bye-bye!


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!  
Here is the first stand alone chapter for this fic! I hope you like it.
> 
> Requests are always open, just comment them down bellow!

Prompt: Virgil getting used to castle life.

It had been several weeks since Virgil had been reunited with his parents and had begun to live in the castle, and he was very happy, but there had been a couple of mishaps here and there.

————————

Virgil heard a shriek bellow him and turned to look down and saw a maid holding a basket of freshly washed linens standing there and staring up at him in shock.

"You're majesty!" She said as she dropped her basket. "Wait right there and I'll get a guard to come and help you! Don't move!" She said, before quickly rushing away.

"Wait!-" Virgil called after her, but she was already gone.

Virgil sighed and leaned back against the wall as he rubbed his face and closed his eyes.

He had been singing to himself quietly as he drew in a sketchbook, and apparently the maid had heard him and looked up.

You see Virgil, not used to being in such a crowded castle, had been looking or somewhere alone to sit and draw, and had found refuge up in the rafters of the main hall.

The wood of the rafters was thick and sturdy, about a two feet wide at least, giving Virgil enough room to sit up there and tuck himself into a corner.

But apparently it wasn't very common to have people up in the rafters, if the maids reaction had anything to say about it.

To be fair, it was pretty high up, and a fall from this highly could do quite a bit of harm and even possibly kill him.

But Virgil didn't really mind, it was kind of calming in a way, to be up high, sitting somewhere he wasn't supposed to sit.

Apparently the rest of the castle didn't see things that way.

He heard rushing footsteps and looked back down at the ground, seeing the nurse with two guards quickly following after her.

"You're majesty!" One of them said in surprise as they both looked up at him. "How did you get up there?"

"I climbed." Virgil said with a shrug, before carefully standing up on the beam and walking across it back to the wall.

"Prince Virgil, please stay where you are! We'll get you down as soon as we can." The other guard said.

"No need." And with that Virgil reached out and grabbed a small ledge on the wall before stepping off of the beam.

He then inched his hands across the ledge until he was above one of the tall almost floor to ceiling windows. He stopped for a few seconds before wrapping his legs around one of the curtains and let go of the wall, quickly latching onto the curtain with his arms before sliding down it like a rope and to the ground.

The two guards and the maid just stared at him in shock as he dusted himself off.

"I'm sorry for worrying you," he began. "But I'm pretty good at climbing, so there's no need to be so concerned." He added with a small smile before walking away.

Apparently the three of them, concerned for his safety, told the king and Queen about it, and then they told them again when hey found Virgil sitting on the ledge of an open window on one of the upper floors with his legs hanging out, and they told them again when they found him climbing up the rafters before jumping up and latching onto the ledge of one of the skylights before crawling out of it and onto the roof, nearly giving one of the other servants a heart attack when they saw him jump.

It became a regular occurrence that a servant or guard would come in to tell the king and Queen about Virgil going into high up and dangerous places, happening almost four or five times a week, and that's just when they caught him, he could be doing it much more than just those times.

It got to the point that the two parents decided to intervene have a talk with Virgil about it before he either hurt himself or gave someone else a literal heart attack, and eventually caught him while he was in the gardens with his friends.   
(cough cough -boyfriends, but they don't know yet- cough cough).

Virgil was leaning against Roman's shoulder while gently carding his fingers through Patton's hair as the smaller male rested his head in his lap, and Logan sat next to Virgil with a book in hand and the rest of Patton's body curled up in his lap.. 

They had found a relatively hidden spot in the gardens, a large tree and a flowering bush blocking the spot from view of the palace windows or the path the guards patrolled.

Virgil opened his eyes when he heard footsteps, and the four of them glanced at each other before quickly moving into less cuddly positions before whoever was coming could see them.

The four of them had decided to keep their relationship secret, not wanting to spring more on Virgil's parents right after they found out he was alive and all. They weren't going to keep it a secret forever, they were just waiting for the time to let his parents know. And in order to do that, they had to keep the pda to the low level of nonexistent.

Which didn't really make any of them happy, seeing as Virgil was always being rushed around to learn history or something, and practice how to properly dance, and needed to learn how to fight from afternoon to dinner on most days, along with needling to learn everything else he hadn't had the chance to learn for the past 18 years that he needed to know as prince and heir to the throne.

The other three were occasionally whisked about to do things as well, but Virgil was by far the most busy. The only time they really had together where they could just relax, cuddle and kiss was at night, despite how tired they, especially Virgil, were. But even then it was still difficult because now they were in separate rooms, no longer able to use their previous excuse to share a room, and had to sneak about or make excuses if they wanted to cuddle at night or something.

They still loved each other though and made it work as best they could.

Virgil looked up and watched as his parents turned around a hedge and walked towards them, smiling brightly when they saw him, causing him to smile back.

"Virgil," his father said. "Would we be able to steal you away from you friends and have a little chat? Just for a moment." He asked.

Virgil glanced over at Roman before nodding and standing up.

"Sure," he said as he brushed himself off.

He didn't really want to go, knowing he only had roughly thirty minutes before he needed to head to sword practice and wanted to spend his free time with the other three, but he couldn't really say no and just decided to hope it wouldn't take too long.

His parents lead him away from the other three and through the gardens.

"So," his mother began. "You're father and I have been getting several reports from the staff that you have been climbing quite a bit." She said as she ran her finger tips over a couple of flowering bushes as they walked.

Virgil bit his lip nervously. "Uh, w-well I have been climbing a bit I suppose." He said shyly.

"You've been giving the staff quiet a scare, especially that one poor servant who watch you jump off a rafter and cling to the ledge of one of the skylights, you scared the life out of him." His father said.

Virgil winced at that.

"Sorry," He began. "I'll try to find a safer way up there next time, but I was sure I could make the jump." He said.

"That's not what we're getting at here Virgil." His mother said as she turned to look at him and stopped walking, prompting the other two to stop as well. "What we're trying to say, is that we'd like you to stop climbing." She said. "While we do appreciate you saying you'll try to be safer next time, we don't want there to be a next time." She said.

"I- um, sorry, but I just c-can't help it." He stuttered as he gripped the hem of his shirt nervously, looking anywhere except at his parents.

"I-I climbed a lot when I was in my tower, and now i-its kind of a comfort to me, in a way... it makes me feel-"

"I'm sorry Virgil," his mother said, interrupting him. "But climbing up the walls like some kind of wild animal is not what a prince does," she said. "What will nobles think if the heir to the thrown is climbing up the walls like some kind of exotic monkey."

Virgil looked down at his feet as his cheeks flushed, his lip beginning to bleed from his nervous chewing.

"And another thing," she added. "You'll need to start wearing shoes as well." She said.

"I don't know how the man that raised you let you run around with no shoes on, but it is improper for a young man such as yourself to go about the kingdom without shoes, we'll set you up an appointment later this evening with a shoemaker to make you a good pair of shoes or two." She said.

"But-"

"No buts Virgil," she said firmly before her gaze softened and she reached forward to cup his chin, turning his face to look up at her.

"Look, Virgil," she said softly as she looked into his beautiful amethyst eyes. "I know it's a lot to get used to, suddenly being a prince in a castle," she began. "But you don't live in that tower anymore, and you need to start acting like the prince we both know you are." She said softly. "I know it's a lot, but can you try for us?" She asked.

Virgil was silent for a few seconds before nodding, breaking eye contact to look away from her.

"No more climbing?" She said, looking at him expectedly.

"No more climbing," He parroted softly.

"And you'll start wearing shoes?" She asked, getting a confirming nod from him.

She smiled and slowly dropped her hand from his face.

"Thank you dear," she said. "I know this is a lot to get used to, but you have to try."

Virgil nodded and went back to looking at his feet, shifting awkwardly as the three of them stood their in silence.

"Can I go back to my...friends now?" Virgil asked hesitantly after a few beats of silence.

"You may," His father said. "But remember that you have sword practice in fifteen or so minutes." He reminded him.

Virgil nodded before quickly walking back the way they'd come, saying quiet goodbyes before turning around the corner and out of view.

———

Roman looked up as he heard footsteps approaching, and saw Virgil walking towards them. He smiled at him, and gained a shaky smile in return from the other boy.

The three of them had gotten comfortable again as they'd waited for Virgil to come back. With Patton now curled up against Logan's side, who was sitting next to Roman, the two of them holding hands.

Virgil carefully climbed into Romans lap, tucking his head under the older males chin as he buried his face in his neck, sighing softly as he sagged against him.

"Did you have a nice talk?" Roman asked as he pressed a gentle kiss to the top of Virgil's head, shifting slightly and holding him closer.

Virgil groaned softly and shook his head, curling up even more as he did.

"Wanna talk about it?" Patton asked as he shifted so he was looking at Virgil while still snuggled into Logan's side.

"Later," Virgil mumbled. "I have like, ten minutes before I need to go and I just want to relax." He said as he snuggled closer to Roman.

The older male let go of Logan's hand and moved both of his hands up to begin massaging Virgil's back and shoulders, and smiled as he felt him melt against his chest, humming softly as all the tension and stress drained out of him.

The other three accepted his answer and just sat there quietly, relaxing together in content silence.

It felt to soon when Virgil said he needed to go, and Roman pouted, holding him tightly as he tried to sit up.

"Roman, I can't be late or he'll have me doing drills until my fingers bleed despite the callouses I already have." Virgil said as he tried to sit up. "Plus, I have ballroom dance lessons tonight an hour after dinner and I don't want to be super sore when I do that." He added.

"Can't they schedule you to have that in the mornings or something?" Roman said with a pout.

"Nope, I have cultural studies in the morning, followed by history of the kingdom, and then I have to go practice my table etiquette for one I attend my first ball or something, apparently they have more than one spoon and they each have specific purposes.

"Are we going to be able to see you between dinner and dance lessons?" Patton asked.

"No, my parents have another thing scheduled, although I'd much rather skip that and come be with you guys."

"Then skip," Roman said. "You can skip just once, can't you?" He asked with a pout.

"No I can't, sorry" Virgil said. "And I really need to go now or I'll be late." He said, and began to move again before being stopped by Roman yet again.

Roman pouted at him before pulling Virgil into a kiss that lasted for a few seconds before allowing him to pull away.

"Goodbye love." He said softly with a sigh as he then let Virgil get up and out of his lap.

Virgil smiled as he blushed softly, and exchanged quick kisses and goodbyes with Patton and Logan before quickly leaving, rushing off towards the training grounds.

"You've been awfully quiet specs," Roman said as he turned to the other male after a beat of silence. "Got something on your mind?" He asked.

"I've simply been thinking." Logan said.

"About what?" Patton asked.

"About Virgil," Logan said. "I think he's being a bit over worked." He said.

"A bit?" Roman asked with a raised eyebrow. "I think you mean a lot, he barely has any time to catch his breath between lessons, let alone take an actual break." He said with a frustrated huff.

"Maybe one of these days we can take him out to relax or something." Patton said.

"Yeah right, like he'll ever get a whole day free to himself." Roman said with a pout as he curled up against Logan's other side, humming as the other male wrapped his arm around him and pulled him, along with Patton, closer to him.

"I'm sure we'll be able to steal him away eventually." Logan said. "As ex-thieves I should hope we're at least able to steal him a day all to himself."

—————————————

Virgil was just about ready to collapse as he made his way into his room after sword and hand to hand combat practice. He was covered in dirt and his entire body ached and all he wanted to do was relax, but dinner was in twenty minutes and he knew if he tried to take a short nap he'd end up sleeping through dinner.

He undressed when he got to his room and quickly walked over to an attached room, a bathroom.

The tub was already full of warm water, the maids, bless every last one of them, had known Virgil would need this when he got back from training.

He carefully stepped into the bath and relaxed into the water with a hum as the warmth enveloping him coaxed him into slumping backwards as his body practically melted, the stressed knots inside of him unraveling the longer he stayed in the tub.

He must have dozed off, because it seemed that only seconds later was there a servant knocking on the door and telling him dinner was in five minutes.

Virgil jerked up and clambered out of the tub, almost slipping as he rushed to dry himself and get dressed into the clothes that had been set out for him, a kind of scratchy and frilly off-white shirt and a dark purple vest with tight dark purple trousers and more shiny golden buttons then were even remotely necessary.

He quickly pulled the clothes on, his skin still a little damp, before rushing out of the room, and into the hall as he quickly made his way to dinner.

Only to have an arm snap out and snag his waist before dragging him behind a suit of armor.

"Quick before dinner kiss?" Roman, the one who had grabbed him, asked hopefully.

Virgil rolled his eyes with a fond smile as he wrapped his arms around Roma's neck.

"Really quick." Virgil said, and not even a second later Roman was kissing him, cupping his cheeks as he gently pushed Virgil up against the wall, humming softly before carefully pulling away a few moments later.

"You smell like vanilla and honey." He said with a hum as he buried his face in the crook of Virgil's neck, making the other male blush.

"It's the soap I've been using, do you like it?" He asked.

"Like it? It makes me want to eat you up right here and now." He said with a smirk as he pressed a kiss to Virgil's neck, making him flush beet red and tilt his head back with a small hum.

"Hey, remember, no marks." Virgil warned, earning a pout from Roman, who pressed one more kiss to his neck before pulling away.

"I know, I know..." He mumbled softly.

Virgil laughed softly and kissed him again before leading him out from behind the armor.

"Come on, or we'll be late for dinner."

———

They managed to get to dinner on time, even a few minutes before his parents go there actually, so the two of them, plus Logan and Patton who were already there, had time to chatter amongst themselves, along with inconspicuous way, since there were guards stationed outside the room.

His parents walked into the room a few minutes later, and signaled for a few servants to come in with the food and begin serving them.

"So, Virgil." His mother began. "The shoemaker will be here between dinner and your dance lessons, so please go to the meeting room on the first floor when you're done eating to meet up with him." She said.

Virgil chewed on his already sore lip and nodded.

"Alright." He said as he began to play around with the food on his plate.

"Good," She said. "How has your day been so far dear, doing good in all your lessons?" She asked.

Virgil nodded again. "I think I am," he said. "And my day has been going decently well."

"The head guard has told me that you still won't use an actual sword yet." His father said. "Any particular reason for that?"

Virgil blushed slight. "W-well, it just makes me nervous, I suppose, I could hurt my self, or someone else, or break something, or break the sword..."

"I highly doubt you'll break the sword Virgil." His father said with a fond smile.

"You need to practice with a real sword, what if you get challenged to a duel?" His mother asked.

"Just give him a frying pan." Roman said from his spot next to Virgil. "I've seen him fight with a frying pan and he can take out a couple of guys pretty quickly all on his own with it." He said, making Virgil blush and smile at him.

"A frying pan isn't a weapon-"

"Anything can be a weapon actually," Logan said calmly, not looking up from his food. "A candle stick, a fire poker, a cattle prod, even a butter knife." He said as he held said utensil up.  
"A frying pan is quiet the weapon when used right." he added.

His mother huffed slightly.

"Fine, I frying pan is a weapon, but you should still learn how to use a sword." She said.

"Dear, we can discuss this another time, let's just eat dinner for now." Her husband said, hoping that they could just go back to eating now.

She eventually agreed and the six of them went back to eating their food, chattering a little bit here and there amongst themselves, but remaining quiet for the most part.

Dinner seemed to take forever to finish, but it eventually ended and his parents got up.

"Remember Virgil, go meet with the shoemaker now, I'm sure he's already waiting." His mother said.

Virgil nodded. "Alright." He said, before waving goodbye as they left the room.

"Why do you need to see a shoemaker?" Patton asked.

"Cause apparently princes don't run around barefoot." Virgil said as he stood up.

"Oh that's just lame." Roman said as he stood up next to him. "Who cares if you don't wear shoes, it's not like it's a crime or something."

"True, but apparently it'd be embarrassing for a noble to see me without shoes on, so I'll need to star wearing them." He said.

"I need to go now, but maybe I'll see you guys after dance lessons?" He asked hopefully.

"If we can sneak into your room or make up an excuse to go in, then you will most definitely see us tonight." Logan said.

"We'll be there and ready to cuddle with you if we do managed to get in." Patton said with a bright smile.

Virgil smiled back at him. "I'd like that." He said softly.

"Well, goodbye, I need to go meet up with the shoemaker now." He said.

"Don't go yet," Roman said as he gently grabbed on to Virgil's wrist.

"Do you have any free time tomorrow?" He asked softly as he gently cupped Virgil's cheek and ran his thumb over the dark bags under his eyes.

Virgil leaned into the touch with a sigh.

"I think I might have an hour or something in the evening free tomorrow." He said softly with a shrug.

"Good," Roman said. "Meet us back in your room when you do have free time and we'll help you relax a bit." He said. "with cuddles, maybe a massage, and extra blankets and pillows if we can get them." He said. "We'll let you sleep and just have an actual break." He said as he gently kissed him on the forehead.

Virgil smiled and tilted his head to press a kiss to Roman's palm in return.

"I'd really like that." He said softly before reluctantly pulling away now.

"I do need to go though, I'll see you guys later." He said before quickly rushing out of the room, the other three leaving not long after him.

———

Virgil all but collapsed onto his bed later that night, kicking his god awful shoes off as he did.

He'd met up with the shoemaker, who had brought a couple of sizes of shoes for Virgil to wear while he waited for his custom ones to be made, and oh gosh did Virgil hate them.

They pinched at his feet and made the flat sole of his foot bend uncomfortably with the arch of the shoe, and he was sure he had a decently big blister forming on his Achilles' tendon where the edge of the shoe constantly rubbed against his skin.

It was even worse that he had to go to his ballroom dancing lesson in the shoes, which made the class even more tiring then it already was.

He didn't care he was still wearing his dance uniform, a pair of lose but not super baggy harem pants and a stretchy sleeveless shirt, he was to tired to care and just wanted to go to sleep.

None of the other three were in there, but the two guards stationed outside his room probably stopped them from coming in.

He hadn’t bother to deal with the lights, not even registering if they were even on or off as he curled up under his blanket and buried his face in one of his pillows, holding it against his chest with a hum.

He quickly fell asleep, his mind shutting off as he fell into the world of dreams.  
———  
Logan quietly slipped in through Virgil’s window, stepping into the room silently before brushing himself off.

He looked at the bed and smiled softly when he saw Virgil sleeping soundly, one of his pillows clutched to his chest.

He went around the room and put each of the lights out, the room slowly growing darker until the only light was from the half moon outside.

He then sat on the edge of Virgil’s bed and brushed some of his hair out of his face before kissing his forehead gently.

“Goodnight Virgil.” He said softly, before slowly getting up and sneaking out of his window and heading to his own room.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Virgil leaves to get Roman, Logan and Patton thank-you gifts, but doesn't tell anyone He was going out, and comes back to find everyone freaking out.

Virgil rode on Thomas's back with Remy on his shoulder and a satchel over his shoulder as the trio made their way back to the castle, no longer sneaking around since they were on their way back.

He'd snuck out earlier that morning when the sun was just coming up, avoiding all the guards and tossing on a haphazard disguise after he'd made it out of the castle grounds.

He'd gone and found Thomas while Remy kept an eye out for any guards around, and then the trio waited a bit before actually heading into town, since none of the shops would be open that early.

He had wanted to head out later, but lately the other three had taken to surprising him in the mornings with cuddles and such, which he did appreciate, but he doubted his ability to break away from the other three without either lying to them or without them noticing. He was already skipping his first few morning lessons as it was, disputed knowing that he'd have to learn double the stuff tomorrow.

As he, Thomas and Remy drew near to the castle he noticed quite a few more guards than normal patrolling the grounds, and a group of them stopped as soon as they saw him, looking shocked.

"Your highness!" One of them said as the guards rushed over to him. "Where have you been? Are you hurt?"

Virgil brushed them off as he slid off of Thomas's back. "I'm fine, sorry for worrying you." He said.

"We need take you to the king and Queen at once, you don't know how worried they've been about you all day." One said as they gently grabbed Virgil's arm and began to lead him into the castle.

"Wait, I can explain what was hap-" but Virgil was ignored as he was quickly ushered inside the castle and towards the private room his parents had for meetings.

The doors were opened and he was quickly pulled inside.

"Your majesties! We found the prince!" One of them said as they walked to wear the king and Queen had been standing, or in the queens case pacing.

Both of their heads snapped over to look at them, and looks of utter relief showed on their faces as the seemed to un-tense and rush over to him, wrapping him into their arms.

The guards were waved out, and the two worried parents began to fuss over him.

"Virgil darling are you hurt? What happened to you? Where did you go?" His mother asked as she cupped his cheeks and began to check him over, turning his face this way and that way as she looked at him, trying to find signs of injuries that weren't there.

"Mom, dad, I'm fine, really I-"

"Sweetheart what are you wearing?" His mother asked, accidentally interrupting him.

"What? That just, um ah....hmmmm." Virgil trailed off, not know what to say.

"Dear," His father began, "maybe you should let him explain, you might be a bit overwhelming for him right now." he said.

She looked at him for a few seconds before nodding, then the two turned to look at Virgil.

"Well," he began. "You can't tell Roman, Logan and Patton." He began.

"Your three friends?" His mother asked.

"Yes, my three...friends." Virgil said with a nod.

"You see, it's been almost three months since they rescued me and brought me here, and I realized that I never properly thanked them." He began.

"So, I decided to sneak out and go get them something." He continued as he absentmindedly gripped the strap of the satchel. "But I didn't think you two would let me, and I wanted it to be a surprise, so I had to leave before they came to find me this morning." He said.

"Oh Virgil, we would have let you go." His father said with a smile.

Virgil looked up at him in surprise. "You would?" He said.

"Yes, we woul-" his mother cut his father off.

"With a guard or to that is." She said.

"That would have drawn a lot of attention, and I didn't want people to gossip or make a big deal out of the prince being in their shop or something." He said. "Thats why I wore a disguise." He added as he gestured to his outfit.

The queen sighed. "Well, I see why you did it, but I would have liked to know before hand, we though you had been kidnapped again..." she said softly as she looked down at the ground.

Virgil winced. "Sorry," He said. "I had planned to be back earlier, but then I accidentally bumped into a old woman and knocked her groceries down, so I helped her pick them up, and then I realized my gift had been crushed and I needed to go back and get new ones." He said shyly. "I didn't mean to worry anyone, I realize sneaking out might not have been the best option."

"Well, at least you understand that." His father said with a reassuring smile. "Now, go run along and find your friends, they've been worried sick about you as well." His father said.

Virgil winced again, thinking about all the worry he'd caused.

"Yeah, I probably should." He said. "Thank you for understanding and not being mad," he added.

"You're welcome," His father said. "Just try not to do it again." His father added with a small wink that his wife didn't see.

Virgil smiled and nodded before leaving the room.

He quickly made his way to his own room, planning on changing before going to find them since he had no clue where they were, but ended up finding them there instead.

He quietly opened the door, having heard voices inside, and saw Roman pacing back and forth across his room as he talked to the other two, Patton sitting on his bed holding a pillow against his chest, and Logan scribbling something down in a small book, looking slightly disheveled and not nearly as calm and collected as he usually does.

"We can't just sit here doing nothing! He could be hurt, or being sold somewhere cause he’s the prince, or unconscious, or-or-" Roman ranted, trailing off as he turned around to pace the other direction and caught sight of a shocked Virgil standing in the doorway, his voice getting stuck in his throat as he froze.

He stared at him for a second before rushing forward.

"Virgil," he muttered as he quickly wrapped the smaller male in his arms and practically dragged him the rest of the way into the room.

The other two, having noticed that Roman had stopped ranting, looked up and saw him holding Virgil, and rushed forwards quickly.

"Virgil!" Patton said as he scrambled off the bed and rushed over to him and Roman, turning him so that he could look him over worriedly.

"We were so worried!" He began. "We came into your room this morning to surprise you and you weren't there and then we couldn't find you, and your parents didn't know where you were, and then they sent out a bunch of guards but told us we should stay here to be safe, but we were to worried about you to do anything else and-and" Patton had tears welling up in his eyes as he continued to ramble on.

Virgil quickly wrapped him up in a hug, guilt bubbling up inside of him like bile as he began to try and calm the other male down.

"Shh shhh, Pat, I'm fine I promise." Virgil said. "I'm sorry I worried you, I didn't mean to be gone for so long, please don't cry." He said as he began to wipe Patton's tears away from his cheeks, feeling his own eyes beginning to well up with tears, although he didn't know why.

Patton whines softly and yanked Virgil into a bone-breaking hug, pressing his face against the younger males neck as he did.

"Where were you?" Roman asked as he moved so that he was looking at Virgil again. "We couldn't find you anywhere, and neither could the guards." He said.

Virgil blushed from embarrassment and looked down at his feet.

"Uh, well..." he began. "I kinda snuck out..." he said, trailing off.

"You snuck out?" Patton asked softly. "Why would you do that?" He asked as he looked up at him. "Is it something we did? Were we annoying you and you needed a break from us?"

Virgil’s stomach sank, feeling more and more guilty by the second.

"No no no, Patton, you aren't annoying me, you guys could never annoy me, not to the point of driving me away at least." He said as he quickly cupped his cheeks in his hands.

"I was...I was out getting something." He said as he looked down.

"It was important to me, and I wasn't really thinking, I shouldn't have snuck out." He said. "I made everyone worry over nothing," he looked back up at Patton. "I made you cry." He said.

Patton shook his head. "I was crying because I was happy to see you safe and sound," he said. "I'm not mad at you, I was just worried."

Virgil frowned, but nodded slightly.

"What were you getting?" Roman asked softly as he gently placed a hand on Virgil's back, in between his shoulder blades. “If you don’t mind my asking.” He added.

Virgil blushed again, and looked away shyly.

"Well, you see....it's been a few months since you guys saved me and brought me home," he began. "A-and I realized last night while I was trying to fall asleep, that I never actually thanked you, not properly at least." He continued.

"So I decided to get you guys gifts, but I wanted it to be a surprise." He chewed on his lip a little bit. “So I snuck out.”

"I didn't mean to stay out so long, I should have been back much earlier, but then a few things happened and I ended up taking longer and causing a bunch of panic." He said as he looked down sadly.

"Oh Virgil," Patton said softly as he cupped Virgil's chin and made him look up at them.

"Virgil, you didn't need to get us anything, we saved you because we loved you." He said. "And if anything, you're the one who saved us." He added. “You were ready to give yourself up to keep us alive.”

Virgil blushed brightly from embarrassment, before looking over at Logan, who hadn't said a word.

"Logan?" He asked hesitantly, shyly stepping out of Patton's arms.

Logan looked at him blankly for a few second, before taking a few steps forwards and wrapping him in his arms.

"Never scare us like that again." He muttered softly as he held onto him tightly.

Virgil nodded as he hugged him back. "I promise I won't, I'm so sorry I scared you." He said as he pressed his face against Logan's neck.

They stayed hugging for a bit before slowly pulling away and moving to sit on the bed, where Virgil let Patton curl up in his lap.

"I should probably give you your gifts now..." he said nervously as he glanced around at them.

"I mean, you can if you want to, but you really didn’t need to get us anything." Roman said with a smile.

Virgil lifted the satchel off of his shoulder and carefully opened it, frowning a little as he looked inside.

"They got a little crushed," he began, looking a bit upset about that. "But I got these to remind us of the festival." He said. "From before the whole Stabbington brother's stuff." He continued as he pulled out four slightly crushed flower crowns from his bag.

One was made up of mostly rich red roses with little bits of caraway flowers and some marigolds mixed in.

Another was made primarily from blue hyacinths, a few white mini-roses and some caraway flowers.

The third one was made up of large clusters of daisies with forget-me-nots wrapped around and twisting throughout the flowers elegantly.

The forth flower crown was made of lilacs, a few giant daisies, and a couple purple crocuses.

"I know they're not the same as the ones we had before, but they're pretty close and I thought you guys would like them." Virgil said. "We can even dry them out and still keep them later on after the flowers die." He added.

“I know it’s not a super fancy gift, but I thought you guys would like them.” He said shyly as he blushed.

"They're so pretty." Patton said softly as he accepted the one Virgil passed to him.

“They’re perfect,” Roman said. “You didn’t need to get us anything, but I, no we, really appreciate it.” He said as he leaned forwards and kissed Virgil’s cheek.

“Yes, it is a simple gift that has a fair amount of meaning for the four of us,” Logan said. “I couldn’t be happier with anything else.” He said.

“Except for you three.” He added with a smile, making Virgil, Roman and Patton blush a bit.

“Who would have guess you’d be the sap of the group.” Roman said as he pressed a kiss to Logan’s cheek after putting his flower crown on.

“You’re one to talk.” Virgil said with a laugh as he took Logan’s crown and put it on the taller males head, before putting his own crown on as well.

The four of them decided to cuddle up on the bed, only separating when there was a knock on the door.

It had been a messenger, saying Virgil was allowed to skip his afternoon lessons, but still needed to go to his evening ones.

After that the four of them cuddled up again, chattering softly and exchanging occasional kisses.

Virgil still felt a bit guilty about worrying everyone, but it turned out okay in the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: I’m still taking requests in whenever, so don’t be afraid to ask, I’m willing to do almost anything. If I don’t do a request of yours right away it’s most likely because I couldn’t figure out a good way to write it, but I’ll continue to try and make it in the future.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Logan and Virgil finally go to the library

"And you're sure your parents said this was fine?" Logan said as Virgil lead him along down the road through the kingdom, weaving through the people who were walking about their own days.

"They did," Virgil said with a nod. "They said it would be a learning experience and a social experience for me, but I doubt I'll do any socializing with anyone except for you." He said with a grin.

"And they're not sending any guards with us?" Logan asked.

"No, they have guards stationed throughout the kingdom." He said, gesturing to a few guards patrolling around. "They may have added a couple more guards near the library though, but it's better than being followed around." He added.

"That's true." Logan said as they continued to walk.

Logan had Remember a few nights ago that he and Virgil had never gone to the library like he'd said they would, and mentioned it to him. The next day Virgil came to him saying that his parents agreed to let him go out to the library as long as he brought Logan or one of his other two friends along with him.

They would have brought the other two, but Roman had recently gotten into hand-to-hand combat, and Patton had been seen baking by some of the staff and was now showing off, even though he said he was just making the hard working staff some overdue snacks.

The two of them decided to let Logan and Virgil have this trip to themselves, and agreed to sneak into Virgil's room that night to cuddle and such.

they needed to stop and get directions a couple of times, but the two of them eventually made it to a very large building.

"Is this the library?" Virgil asked as he looked up at the large stone columns.

"It is indeed," Logan said as he lead Virgil inside, taking the lead now.

"Is there a particular section you'd like to go to?" He asked as he looked around the large area that was the first floor, a few sets of staircases around the edges.  
There were a few people here and there, but not a whole lot, a majority of people still had work right now.

"Um, I'm not sure." Virgil said as he looked around. "Is there one you want to go to?" He asked.

"I have none in particular that I'd like to go to, but I think you'd enjoy the map room." He said with a smile. "It's on one of the top floors if I remember correctly." He added. "Would you like to go there?"

Virgil smiled at him. "Sure." He said.

Logan nodded and gently took his hand before leading him to one of the staircases and making their way up.

It took a bit longer than they'd expected, the map room being on a much higher floor than Logan remembered. But the two of them eventually made it up to the map room.

It was a small room with a few shelves and a very large table taking up the majority of the room. The walls were covered with maps, some of oceans and their currents and others of the land.  
The room was dusty, and only had a few lanterns in it, but a large skylight in the ceiling covered with yellow stained glass poured in enough light for them to see everything. It felt cozy in a way.

"Wow," Virgil said softly. "I didn't know there were so many places." He said as he walked towards one of the maps.

"And they keep discovering more and more places," Logan said as he walked with him. "This is of Europe, and Corona is the little tiny bit here." He said, pointing to a small speck that was barely the size of a coin.

"We're that small?" Virgil asked.

Logan nodded. "We are pretty small, especially in comparison to other places, like here." He said, painting to a much larger section of the map closer to the top.

"And even higher than that it's freezing cold, everything's covered in ice and snow." He said as he moved his finger higher up, pointing to the very top of the map.

"What's snow like?" Virgil asked. "I've seen it from my window, and have caught a couple of flakes, but I've never played in it or anything thing." He said.

"Well, it's summer right now, but we can show you in the winter." Logan said. "And snow if very cold, and melts quickly when it comes down in small amounts. And while it can be fun to play in, you must be careful to their protect yourself from the cold properly or to not stay out in it for to long." He said.

"How can snow hurt you, it looks so soft." Virgil asked.

"Well, the snow itself isn't likely to hurt you unless it forms into ice, then you can skip on it." Logan explained. "But even then, the coldness if the snow is more likely to hurt you than the snow itself," he said.

"The coldness of the snow can, in worst cases, cause hypothermia and frostbite, which are very harmful to the human and or animal body." He explained. "Which is why you need to be careful around it."

Virgil nodded, and the two of them moved on to a different map.

They spent hours in that room, pouring over maps or bringing other books from downstairs if they lost interest.

At one point they both sat against the wall, leaned against one another as they each read a different book, the atmosphere around them both calm and content.

Virgil eventually closed his book and leaned against Logan's shoulder a bit more, nuzzling him gently before looking up at him.

"I'm glad we came out here today." He said softly with a smile, which grew even bigger as Logan put his book down and gently pulled Virgil into his lap.

"I'm glad you've enjoyed yourself." Logan said. "I am also glad we came out here today, it was rather pleasant." He said. "I enjoyed spending time with you." He added.

Virgil laughed softly as he blushed and pressed a kiss to Logan's cheek.

"You're so sweet." He said softly before snuggling closer to him, humming softly as he closed his eyes.

"We should probably head back to the castle if you're tired." Logan said as he began to gently card his fingers through Virgil's hair.

"Do we have to though," Virgil asked. "You're comfortable and I don't want to get up." He mumbled.

"Well, I'd offer to carry you, but I think some of the guards would freak out." Logan said as he pressed a kiss to the top of Virgil's head.

Virgil nodded in agreement. "Thats true." He said softly before reluctantly getting out of his lap.

"Let's go back to the castle then," he said. "I want to go to bed and you're the pillow I want to sleep on." He mumbled softly as he stood up.

Logan chuckled softly as he stood up as well. "I suppose that can be arranged."

The two cleaned up the room a bit before heading down stairs, quietly walking as they made their way down.

Once they stepped out side of the library the began the trek back to the castle, walking close to one another but not touching as the sun began to set behind the buildings.

"Do you think Roman and Pat are already waiting?" Virgil asked.

"I wouldn't be surprised if they were." Logan said as he walked next to him.

The two of them continued to walk back to the castle, nodding to the guards as they passed them and walked on to the palace grounds.

They went straight to Virgil's room, not bothering to talk to his parents since they could talk later that evening at dinner, right now Virgil just wanted to take a nap, specifically a nap on top of Logan.

When they walked inside they saw Patton and Roman cuddled together on the bed, Roman without his shirt on.

They both looked up when they heard the door open, and smiled when they saw Logan and Virgil.

"Ah, welcome back." Roman said as he smiled at them and held and hand out for one of them to take as they closed the door and came closer to the bed.

"Did you have fun at the library?" Patton asked as he shifted in his spot against Romans chest so he could look at them easier.

"We did," Virgil said. "Looked at a bunch of books and maps, it was so cool." He said with a yawn as he waited for Logan to get comfortable on the bed before curling up against his chest, making sure he was facing Parton and Roman as he did.

"Well that's good, I'm glad you had fun." Parton said with a smile before nuzzling against Romans neck, which was covered in small marks ranging from the size of half an inch to almost two inches in diameter.  
The spots were a mixture of pink, light red and dark red, and were littered across the skin of his neck, collarbone, shoulders and chest.

"Patton really did a number on you didn't he Princey." Virgil joked with a small smirk.

"I just couldn't help myself," Patton said as Roman blushed brightly. "He looks adorable when he blushes and was making the cutest sounds while I did it." He said as he pressed a kiss to Roman neck. "I just couldn't get enough." He added with a small smirk.

Both Virgil and Logan blushed as Patton talked, picturing what Patton was saying in their heads.

"I'll keep that in mind." Logan said as he looked at Romans neck and blushed even more.

Roman hid his face in Patton's hair as he continued to blush. "He made sure I was okay with it first, and stopped when I asked him to." Roman said, his voice slightly muffled.

"Good," Logan said as he wrapped his arms around Virgil and nuzzled against his soft hair.

"I think the two of us are ready for a nap." Virgil said with a small smile as he yawned.

"I can agree to that," Roman said.

"Mind if we join you?" Patton asked, already curling up and snuggling closer to Roman.

"Not at all," Virgil said. "We just need to be up and ready for dinner in an hour or two." He said as he closed his eyes.

"Kay." Roman said softly as he shifted so he could lean against Logan's shoulder.

Patton hummed softly and snuggled closer to Roman a bit more before reaching forward and holding Virgil's hand.

Virgil gently squeezed Patton's hand and smiled a bit as he made himself comfortable, and Logan wrapped his arms more securely around Virgil's torso, leaning he head to rest on top of Romans head, not bothering to take his glasses off.

"Night."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: I'm taking requests whenever, so if you ever come up with one feel free to tell me, I'm willing to do almost anything. If I don't do a request of yours right away it's probably because I'm still trying to write it or something along those lines.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Virgil comes back to the castle after going with his father for some hands on learning about running the kingdom, and just wants to cuddle with his (secret) boyfriend's cause he's tired

Virgil rode on Thomas back up to the castle with Remy on his shoulder, following behind his father who was on the back of his own horse.

They'd just finished a very long and tedious meeting with several of the shop keepers and farmers to discuss the agreements between them and the kingdom for the upcoming year. It had taken forever, due to some of the farmers being concerned about their income due to having a majority of their crops having been destroyed by rot, and having to negotiate with them before they agreed to the terms that had been drafted up.

They'd set out to do that around 11am, and were now getting back at 5pm, and Virgil was bored stiff and tired.

"Well Virgil," He father began as he slid off of his horse. "Don't tell your mother, but you're allowed to skip the rest of your lessons for the day, go hang out with you friends and relax, I know that was really boring for you." He said with a smile.

Virgil smiled at him as he slid off of Thomas's back, Remy cawing softly.

"Thank you," He said. "I'll see you later at dinner?" He asked.

"Yes," His father said. "And have Remy fly up through your bedroom window, you know your mother doesn't like him flying around inside the castle." He added before walking away, a few servants taking his horse to put it in the stables.

Thomas just walked away on his own, allowed to do his own thing.

Virgil sent Remy to go fly to his room while he walked there himself.

The other three had said that they'd wait for him in his room, having snuck in through the window that morning to surprise him with morning cuddles, so he didn't bother going to their rooms to get them.

He opened his door and smiled as he saw the three of them cuddled up on his bed, with Roman leaning against the head board, Patton leaning against Romans chest, and Logan curled up next to Roman with a book, leaning on the other males shoulder as he held Patton's hand.

The three looked up when they heard the door, and smiled when they saw him.

"Guess who has the rest of the day to relax?" Virgil asked with a smile as he walked over to his wardrobe and pulled out a set of much softer and more comfortable clothes to wear instead of his stiff and multilayered outfit he had been told to wear today.

"Do you really?!" Patton asked with an excited grin as he shifted so that he was sitting up a bit more.

"Yup," Virgil said as he began to shed his layers, standing between the two doors of the wardrobe to keep some amount of privacy while he changed. "My dad said I didn't need to go to any of my other lessons for the day, and that I get to chill here."

"Well it's good to hear that you get a break." Logan said as he sat up and adjusted his glasses. "Is there anything in particular that you'd like to do with your day off?" He asked.

"I just want to stay in bed with the three of you for a couple of hours until dinner." He said as he peeled the last layer off, shivering as his warm and slightly sweaty skin was exposed to the cool air.

He kicked off his shoes and tugged off his pants before pulling a loose and soft shirt on, along with a pair of baggy shorts, before making his way over to the bed and practically collapsing next to the other three as he sunk into the soft mattress, causing Patton and Roman to roll his eyes.

"Did you have fun in the kingdom at least?" Roman asked as he watched Logan pull Virgil into his lap, the smaller male instantly curling up and pressing his face against Logan's neck with a hum.

"The kingdom itself was nice, but having to sit through several hours of farmers haggling and arguing about the terms wasn't fun." Virgil said.

"At least it was a learning experience," Logan said. "And now, in the future, you can be more prepared for similar situations." He said as he began to massage Virgil's back, making him hum.

"Yeah, and maybe you can find something to make it more interesting while you're there." Patton said.

"Having one or all of you guys there would make it more bearable." Virgil mutter as he practically melted against Logan's chest as he continued to massage Virgil's back and shoulders, meticulously rubbing the stress away and easing out the knots.

"Well, we're not really allowed to, seeing as to everyone else we're just friends and would have no actual reason to be out with you and the king." Roman said. "But you know I'd be right be your side in a heartbeat if I was allowed to." He added.

"Me too." Patton said.

"Me as well." Logan agreed, pressing a kiss to the top of Virgil's head. "I am actual quite interested in the inner workings of the kingdom, and I'd enjoy making the experience more bearable for you." He added.

Virgil smiled. "You guys are too good for me." He mumbled as he snuggled closer to Logan.

"Hey, don't say that." Roman said as he shifted so that he was sitting up more.

"Look at me love." Roman said when Virgil didn't respond.

Patton crawled out of Romans lap and sat next to him, looking at Virgil expectantly.

Virgil continued to ignore them, keeping his face pressed against Logan's neck.

Logan sighed and gently pried Virgil away from his chest and carefully turned him around so he was still sitting in his lap but facing the others, wrapping his arms around Virgil's waist to gently keep him in place.

Virgil looked down at his lap as he chewed on his lip, purposefully not looking at any of them.

"Whats wrong?" Patton asked softly.

"Nothing." He said, albeit a little to quickly for any of them to believe it.

"Come on love," Roman said as he reached forward and cupped Virgil's chin, tilting his head up so that he was looking at them. "You can talk to us." He said as he gently rubbed his cheekbone with his thumb.

Virgil sighed and closed his eyes as he leaned into the touch.

"I-It's just that...well I'm never here." He said. "I'm always rushing around doing lessons or duties or training and everything, a-and I barely have time for you guys." He said. "But you still stay here, waiting for me and shower me in love and affection when I am here." He said. "I don't deserve that, not when I can't reciprocate." He said.

"Oh honey." Patton said softly as he reached forward and cupped Virgil's face with both hands, Roman having already pulled his hand away.

"You don't need to reciprocate those things for us unless you want to and are able to." He said. "We enjoy being with you, and will wait for forever if we need to." He said.

"Sure, sometimes we can't be here, like when the guards don't let us in, but we still love you and will be here as soon as we can." He continued.

"And if you talk bad about yourself again I will physically fight you." Patton added, pointing a finger at him sternly, but the smile on his face showed that he wasn't angry.

"We love to dote on you and each other." Roman said. "We want to shower you with love, and don't expect you to do it in return if you don't want to or are to tired to." He said. "We understand how busy you are, and don't hold anything against you." He added.

"It would be entirely unjust for us to hold that against you, or try and force you to do something just because we do it for you." Logan began. "We don't want you to do anything you feel you need to do, and you shouldn't feel guilty for things you can't control." He said. "We're here because we want to be, not because we have to be. We love you and want to make sure you know that every moment we can afford to." He said as he pressed gentle kisses to the nape of Virgil's neck.

Virgil hummed softly and closed his yes as he tilted his head to allow Logan to kiss his neck easier.

"Still, I feel guilty not being able to spend more time with you guys." He said.

"You're giving up your precious free time to be with us," Roman said. "You don't have to do that, but you do." He continued. "You spend as much time as you're able to with us, and we can see and appreciate that." He said.

Virgil smiled fondly and opened his eyes to look at him.

"I love you," He said softly. "All of you." He added.

Patton and Roman cooed softly, making Virgil blush and look away while Logan laughed softly.

Roman reached forward and cupped Virgil's chin again as he leaned in close, looking into his eyes lovingly.

"We love you too." He said, before kissing him gently.

Virgil closed his eyes and hummed into the kiss before reaching up and wrapping his arms around Romans neck.

Roman smiled and gently pulled Virgil out of Logan's lap and into his own, moving his hands down to wrap around his waist as they continued to kiss.

Virgil slowly pulled away from the kiss and blushed brightly as Roman moved down to kiss his neck.

"No marks, if my parents see anything they'll get suspicious." He said as he tangled his fingers in Romans hair.

"Then I'll leave marks where your parents won't see." Roman muttered.

"Not until I get a chance to kiss him." Patton said. "If that's okay with you that is." He added as he looked at Virgil.

Virgil nodded. "That's fine with me." He said softly.

Patton smiled and moved closer to them before gently pulling Virgil back and kissing him, leaving him in Romans lap though.

Roman smiled and slid his hands up under Virgil's shirt, trailing his fingers up and down his sides.

Virgil laughed and smiled into the kiss a little bit.

"R-roman, that tickles." He said as he pulled away for a second.

"Oh really?" Roman asked with a grin.

"Hold him pat." Roman said, his grin turning into a mischievous smirk.

Patton laughed and quickly, before Virgil could react, grabbed his arms and pulled them up and behind his back so that his sides were completely unguarded.

"Roman, don't you dare." Virgil warned as he squirmed in Patton's hold a little bit.

Roman laughed and ignored him as he reached forward and began to gently dig his fingers into Virgil's sides and quickly skitter them up and down his ribs, earning a few gasps and squeals as Virgil tried to duck away from the fingers, but being held in place by Patton meant he couldn't really get far away.

"Logan!" Virgil said with a gasp as he twisted to look at him, still squirming and laughing with a bright smile on his face.

"Save me from these two hooligans." He pleaded before squealing and struggling even more as Roman began to gently tickle his neck, although he was using his mouth and tongue as he did so, which be made Virgil flush bright red. He was still tickling his sides as well, and Patton kept a fi but gentle grip on his wrists.

Logan smiled softly as he looked at the other three.

"I suppose," he said with a smile before carefully pulling Virgil away from the other two and into his own lap, where Virgil sagged with relief as he gasped for air softly.

"Only Logan gets kisses now." He mumbled as he leaned against Logan's chest.

Patton and Roman pouted at that.

"But that's not fair." Roman whined.

"Well Logan didn't tickle me, so suck it up princey." He said with a smile as he shifted so that his legs were on either side of Logan and he could wrap his arms around him like a hug.

"Only Logan gets kisses until I've forgiven you." He said with a small laugh.

Logan smiled and wrapped his arms around Virgil's waist.

"You two will just have to sit and watch or cuddle with each other." He said as he looked at them over Virgil's shoulder.

Virgil snuggled closer to him and hummed softly, closing his eyes as he smiled.

It wasn't even a minute before the other two were cuddling up on either side of them.

"Are we forgiven now?" Patton asked as he snuggled close to Logan and rested his head on his shoulder.

"Hmmm..." Virgil thought for a second as he turned his head to look at him. "I suppose." He said with a smile before giving him a peck on the lips.

"Thank goodness." Roman said as he snuggled up against Logan's other side, pressing a kiss to his shoulder before moving to hold one of Virgil's hands.

Virgil hummed contently and closed his eyes again as he pressed his face into the crook of Logan's neck.

The four of them stayed cuddled up like that for a while, just chatting quietly. Virgil eventually fell asleep, still pressed up against Logan's chest, and the other three stayed quiet to let him rest, know he needed it.

After a couple of hours Virgil woke up and smiled as he saw Roman. He gently squeezed his hand and his smile grew as Roman looked over at him.

"Well hello my sweet prince." Roman said with a smile as he looked at him.

"Hey." He said softly.

"Did you have a nice nap?" Roman asked.

Virgil nodded before humming softly as he felt someone card their fingers through his hair.

He turned his head to look and saw that it was Patton, who was smiling at him sweetly.

"Hi," He said.

"Hi." Virgil said back with a smile.

Virgil, although a bit reluctantly, began to slip out of Logan's hold and lap, much to the other males displeasure.

"Where are you going?" Logan asked as he sat up a bit more and watched Virgil get off the bed.

"I need a bath, I probably smell awful." Virgil said.

"Not really," Patton said.

"But if you do take a bath you should use the vanilla and honey soap stuff again." Roman added with a smile.

Virgil laughed softly as he gathered up a few things before walking over to the bathroom.

"I'll leave the door open so we can still talk." He said as he walked into the attached room.

They all chattered while Virgil took his bath, talking about plans for tomorrow and how much free time Virgil thought he'd have.

He stayed in the bath for roughly thirty minutes before getting out, drying off quickly and redressing before joining the others back in his room.

"You three should probably go get ready for dinner." He said as he sat down on the bed.

"Do we really have to though?" Roman asked as he moved over to him and smiled as he leaned against his shoulder, smelling the vanilla and honey scented soap.

"I mean, you technically don't, but you'll probably want to," He said. "If you don't my mother might start giving you guys lessons on proper manners and attire for dinner." He said with a laugh.

"Virgil is technically right," Logan said. "We should go get changed, but I admit I am reluctant to leave." He added with a small blush.

Virgil smiled and moved over a bit and pressed a kiss to Logan's cheek. "You guys can come right back." Virgil said, still smiling.

He eventually got the other three to agree, receiving promises from them that'd they'd be back in a few minutes.

During the time they were gone Virgil cleaned up a bit himself, tucking in his shirt, putting his vest on, a deep burgundy today, along with all the other stuff he had to wear, ending with his shoes, which he begrudgingly put on with a huff.

The others came back not to long after he'd finished getting ready, each of them looking quite a bit more proper and even a little stiff.

"We should probably head down there soon." Virgil said as he walked over to where they were lingering around the door.

"Not until we have Secret before dinner kisses." Roman said with a pout as he wrapped his arms around Virgil's waist and pulled him forward. "If you're okay with that." He added.

Virgil blush. "I think we have enough time for before dinner kisses." He said with a smile.

Roman grinned at him before pulling him into a loving kiss, closing his eyes.

Virgil hummed softly and reached up to tangle his fingers in Romans hair, closing his eyes as well.

Roman gently nibbled and sucked at Virgil's bottom lip before slowly pulling away, leaving Virgil flushed and a thin trail of saliva connecting their mouths, Virgil's bottom lip now a little on the redder side.

"My turn?" Patton asked hopefully from where he'd been peppering Logan's neck with kisses.

Virgil nodded. "Of course." He said as he untangled his fingers from Romans hair as slipped out of his arms and into Patton's.

Patton smiled at him brightly. "I love you," He said as he pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"I love you," He repeated as he pressed a kiss to his other cheek.

"I love you." He said again as he pressed a kiss to the corner of Virgil's mouth.

He continued to do this, saying 'I love you' as he kissed Virgil's face, his jaw, and his neck. They were sweet and gentle kisses and wouldn't leave any marks, and had Virgil blushing bright red from being told 'I love you' so many times.

Patton eventually pulled Virgil into a kiss, playfully sucking Virgil's bottom lip in between his teeth and gently nipping at the soft skin there for a few seconds before pulling away, Virgil's lip now much redder then it had been after Romans kiss.

"If you guys keep doing that my parents are gunna think I was either punched in the mouth or that I'm secretly seeing someone." He said, a little breathlessly.

"That last one is technically true." Roman said from where he had sucked a slightly red mark on Logan's collarbone, a spot that could be easily covered by his shirt or his tie.

"Oh hush, you know what I mean." Virgil said with a small laugh as he pressed one more quick kiss to Patton's lips before slipping out of his arms, only to be immediately snatched up by Logan.

He barely had time to turn and face him before Logan had pressed his face against Virgil's neck.

"May I kiss you here if I do so in places that can be covered if needed?" Logan asked.

Virgil blushed brightly, but shyly nodded.

"S-Sure," He said shyly, his face beet red as he brought his hands up to rest at the back of Logan's head, gently tangling his fingers in his hair.

Logan reached up and gently tugged off Virgil's frilly tie, and unbuttoned the first few buttons on his shirt, revealing a tiny bit of his chest, his collarbone, and the rest of his previously covered neck.

He began to press gentle open mouth kisses to Virgil's neck, slowly moving down.

Virgil hummed softly as tilted his head back and to the side to make kissing his neck easier for Logan.

Logan continued to slowly move down, gently sucking at the spot here you could feel Virgil's pulse, giving the skin there a gentle nip before moving down to his collarbone. He began to gently kiss and nip there as well, leaving a constellation of small little red marks spread out across the parts of his neck and chest that would be covered, while Virgil hummed and squirmed a little bit in his hold, biting his already red and slightly sore lip.

He eventually pulled away and looked at Virgil, and smiled at his flushed cheeks and half open eyes, fingers still tangled in Logan's hair.

"I kinda want to skip dinner now." Roman mumbled, having watched the two of hem with Patton, both of them blushing as well.

Virgil hummed again and shook his head.  
"My parents would send guards in." He said as he let Logan re-button up his shirt and fix his tie, hiding all evidence of what had just happened beneath the scratch fabric.

"But, I'd be very happy if we could get you guys back in my room after dinner, if the guards will allow it." He added with a blush.

"We'll just sneak in if they don't." Patton said with a smile.

Virgil smiled back, before talking a step towards the door. "Come on or we'll be late," He said. "We don't want them to get any ideas." He added, before opening the door and leading them out into the hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: feel free to continue putting in requests if you have any, I'm open to requests at any time. You can also put in multiple requests if you want. And you can ether comment them or pm me, I don't mind either way.


	22. Authors note: a question for the masses #2

So, I have gotten a request or two involving nsfw (Not Safe For Work -like sex and such) content, nothing to bad or super dirty, but I’ve gotten a couple.

Now, I’m okay with writing it, but I want to know if you guys are okay with that? Would you rather me put it in a separate book? Would you mind if I published it here? If I do put it here I’d put a disclaimer in the title, before the chapter, and before it happens.  
(I would not be posting the nsfw stuff to the tumblr account I’ve been posting this story on)

I just want to get your opinions before I do something like this, I don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable.

Anywho, please tell me what you think in the comments, please and thank you.

Bye!


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Virgil and the others run away from palace life for a day"

"Where did you put the note?" Logan asked as the four of them casually walked through the forest outside of the kingdom.

"I put it in crack between the doors to their room, right above the door handles," Virgil said. "they can't miss it." He added.

"Good, we don't need them panicking." Patton said.

"Well, my dad did say we could go out for a bit and chill for a day," Virgil said. "We just didn't tell them when, and only left a note now that we have." He said with a smile, although he felt a little anxiousness and a bit of adrenaline coursing through his veins.

"That's true," Logan said. "Although we should get back before nightfall." He said.

"Yeah, we probably should." Roman agreed.

"Where are we going exactly?" Virgil asked, looking around at the forest that surrounded them.

"To this cute little meadow-like clearing we found a while ago." Patton said. "It's quiet and has a little creek near by." He added.

"Sounds nice." Virgil said.

The group walked for another few minutes before stepping out of the trees and into a small clearing.

"It's so pretty." Virgil said softly as he looked around the small clearing.

Patton beamed. "I knew you'd like it." He said, "come on, there's a really nice tree to sit under in the shade where you can see the creek." He said as he grabbed Virgil's hand and excitedly lead him across the lush grass that tickled at Virgil's bare feet.

The four of them settled down underneath the shade of a small tree that overlooked the clearing and the small creek off to the side.

Roman was curled up against Virgil's chest and Logan had his head in Patton's lap as the other carded his fingers through his hair, Logan's glassing sitting on the ground next to him as he relaxed with his eyes closed.

"We should come out here more often." Roman said softly as he snuggled closer to Virgil, who had previously looped his arms around his torso.

"I don't think we can afford sneaking out of the palace on a regular basis." Logan said, humming softly as Patton gently massaged his scalp.

"Once a week."

"No."

"Every other week?"

"No."

"Once a month?"

"..."

"Is that a yes, Specs?" Roman asked with a grin.

"I suppose." Logan said after another short pause.

"You two are so silly," Patton said softly.

"You're one to talk." Roman said with a grin.

Patton blushed and smiled at him. "I guess you got me there." He said.

A small snore drew their attention to the oddly silent male leaning against the tree next to them.

Virgil had fallen asleep as they had chattered, having felt content and relaxed as he sat there against the tree and held Roman, listening to them talk.

The others each smiled softly and decided to let him sleep while they continued to chatter quietly amongst themselves.

Virgil woke up an hour or two later, feeling his body being moved to lay against something warm and softly.

He hummed softly and snuggled closer to what he assumed was one of his boyfriends, nuzzling against what he assumed was his chest.

"Why hello there," Logan said as he carefully held Virgil in his lap, feeling the other male shift and snuggled closer.

Virgil mumbled softly and reluctantly slid an eye open to look up at him.

"Hi." He said softly.

"Did you have a nice nap?" Logan asked as he reached up to gently card his fingers through Virgil's hair.

Virgil hummed softly and leaned into the touch as he nodded, closing his eyes again.

"Sorry we woke you," Logan added. "Patton and Roman wanted to go play in the creek and we decided to move you into a more comfortable position since we needed to move you to let Roman up anyway." He explained.

" 's fine." He mumbled, his words a little slurred from the sleepiness that still clung to him.

It was a quite for a few moments, only interrupted by a distant shout of "I FOUND A SALAMANDER" that sounded like Roman, followed by small scream and loud splashing, along with what sounded like Patton laughing.

"When was the last time you slept for more than five hours?" Logan asked.

Virgil hesitated.

"...'dunno." He mumbled with a shrug, hiding his face in the crook of Logan's neck.

"We need to work on that." 

" 'M fine." Virgil protested.

"Not in my opinion."

Virgil huffed. "Whatever you say Specs."

Logan rolled his eyes playfully and smiled a small bit.

They sat and chatted quietly, Virgil still snuggled up to Logan, who eventually moved his hands to massage at Virgil's shoulders and back, making the other male relax against him and hum in appreciation at how good it felt for his tense muscles to relax.

Parton and Roman came back over to them after a while, their sleeves and pants rolled up but they were still wet despite that.

"Did you guys have fun?" Virgil asked softly, mumbling a little bit since his face was pressed against Logan's stomach.

"We did," Patton said with a bright smile as Roman nodded in agreement, "did you guys have fun as well?" He asked.

"It was quiet nice to relax in the shade, and Virgil was able to take a decently long nap." Logan said as he moved his hands to gently massage Virgil's scalp, feeling the slightly younger teen turn into putty at the touch of his hands.

Virgil groaned softly as Logan massaged his scalp, and hid his blushing face in Logan's shirt.

He felt a second pair of hands gently land on his lower back, beginning to gently rub there as well, and then a third pair of hands were on his thighs, and he hummed again, barely able to hold in a small moan as the persons fingers began to methodically dig into his leg muscles, relaxing him even more.

"Guys....." he mumbled softly.  
"You don't need to do that, I'm fine." He said as he tried to sit up and wave their hands away.

"Nonsense." Roman said as he gently pushed Virgil back onto his stomach from where his hands had been on said male's lower back. "This is something we want to do, let us help you relax and make you feel good." Roman said as he dug his fingers into the tense muscles of his lower back.

"Your fingers are cold though." He mumbled, before humming at the feeling as his skin got used to his cold fingers. 

He wanted to just relax, but he also didn't want them to feel like they needed to do this for him, it made him feel bad and like he was spoiled.

"You really don't need to," Virgil said as he gently pushed his hands away. "I don't want you to pamper me or something." He said as he sat up.

"But what if we want to pamper you?" Patton asked as he wrapped his arms around Virgil and pulled him into his lap.  
"What if we want to make you feel good." He asked asked, his mouth close to Virgil's ear as he pressed a kiss to the crook of Virgil's neck.

"I-I..." his face turned bright red, the words sounding to imply something more intimate then just a massage.

"Shhh," Patton said. "Let us help you relax, let us take care of you." He said as he gently slipped his hands under Virgil's shirt. "If this is okay with you that is." He added, gaining a shy nod from Virgil.

Logan coughed softly from next to them. "As much as I agree with Roman and Patton, I believe we should be heading back to the palace," he said. "It will be getting late soon, and we don't want to make your parents worry by not getting back while it's still light out." He said.

"But we can start this back up again when we get back to Virgil's room." He added.

Patton pouted, but slipped his hands out from under his shirt and relaxed his hold on Virgil as he nodded. "Alright," he said, before pressing a kiss to Virgil's cheek.

The four of them eventually got up and dusted themselves off before beginning the trek back to the castle, chatting as they walked through the woods.

The sun was setting by the time they got back, and they quickly cleaned up and changed before heading down to have dinner with Virgil's parents, telling them they had had a nice day and that they were sorry for the short notice of their trip and all.

"Well, I'm glad you boys had a nice day of exploring the woods, but please do tell us in person next time." Virgil's dad said as they finished dinner and went to tuck in for the night.

"We will," Virgil said. "Good night," he added.

"Goodnight."

The four of them then went up to Virgil's room, but the guards told them it was to late and that they needed to go to their own rooms for the night.

-

Virgil has just finished getting out of his more formal clothes, and was about half way done with getting into more comfortable clothes -only having a pair of loose and soft pants on- when there was a tapping sound on his window.

He smiled and rolled his eyes, it hadn't even been twenty minutes yet.

Walking over to the window he waited a few seconds before pushing the curtains away and opening it up, taking a few steps back as Roman, Patton and Logan slipped into his room.

"Why hello," He said with a coy smile.

Patton grinned and stepped forward, wrapping his arms around Virgil's waist.

"Hello," He said as he leaned his mouth down to kiss at Virgil's neck.

"Now," He began, "Back to what I was saying earlier."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: feel free to continue putting in requests if you have any, I'm open to requests at any time. You can also put in multiple requests if you want. And you can ether comment them or pm me, I don't mind either way.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Logan telling Virgil's parents that they're over working Virgil."

Logan watched as Virgil sluggishly walked into the room, only stopping to take off his vest, his tie and to kick off his shoes before collapsing onto the bed next to Roman.

"Hey Virgil," Patton said softly.

Virgil only hummed in response from where he lay on his stomach, his face pressed into the mattress.

"Come one babe, let's get you changed." Roman said as he lifted Virgil up and pulled him into his lap. "Want to get him some comfy clothes Pat?" He asked as he began to unbutton Virgil's shirt, the other male already half asleep against Romans chest, mumbling softly.

It had been like this every couple of days for the past two or three weeks. Virgil would be extremely busy with lessons and such, and would come back to his room completely exhausted and on the brink of passing out. He also appeared to be losing his apatite and wasn't drinking enough water in the day. It wasn't remotely healthy in any way shape or form, and Logan had just about had enough of it.

Roman finished unbuttoning Virgil's shirt and carefully slipped it off of him, just as Patton came back with a much more comfortable shirt and a pair of shorts.

"Can you help me with his pants?" Roman asked, and Patton nodded, carefully beginning to pull Virgil's pants off, using his old shirt to cover him so he could keep his privacy.

After the pants were off the two quickly slipped the new shirt and shorts on, before relaxing on the bed again.

Virgil was fully asleep at this point, face pressed against Romans chest as he snored softly, oblivious to the world around them.

He had large dark purple bags under his eyes, and his skin was much paler than it usually was.

"He's been so tired lately." Patton said softly.

"He's always been tired Patton," Roman said as he held Virgil. "Ever since we first brought him home, he's been so overworked." He added. "It's just catching up to him now."

"I think it's about time to stop it." Logan said as he looked at the two of them.

"What do you mean?" Patton asked.

"I'm going to talk with his parents tomorrow afternoon. They usually spend their lunch in the tea room upstairs, so I'll meet with them there and talk with them." Logan said.

"Are you sure that's a good idea specs?" Roman asked. "I want to change his schedule to, but they could get upset about you calling them out on something." He said.

"I'd rather have his parents be mad at me than continue letting Virgil live with this unhealthy schedule." Logan said.

Roman and Patton glanced at each other before nodding.

"Alright," Roman said. "Just tell us how its goes when you're done." He said.

"I will." Logan promised with a nod.

"Now, the three of us should also try and get some sleep." He said as he stood up. "You guys get comfy while I turn off the lights." He added as he walked across the room to start turning the lights out.

Roman and Patton shifted into comfortable positions, with Roman curled around Virgil and Patton curled around Roman.

Logan came back to the bed when he finished turning off the lights, and curled up around Virgil's other side, draping a protective arm across both Virgil and Romans sides, holding Patton's hand as the three of them drifted off to sleep.

Logan had decided they should sleep in the next morning, convincing Patton to wrap around Virgil and not let go when he said he needed to go to classes -it didn't take much effort to convince Patton to do that.

"Come on guys, I need to go." Virgil said with a yawn as he tried to wriggle out of Patton's hold.

"Nope!" Patton said with a grin as he held him tighter and nuzzled against his neck from his position behind Virgil.

"I have lessons," he said as he continued to squirm in Patton's hold.

He looked over at Roman, who was sitting on the bed a foot or two away.

"Ro, help me." He said with a pleading look as he gave up on trying to get out of Patton's hold.

"Hmmm..." Roman pretended to think for a second. "No, I don't think I will." He said.

"But I'll do this," he added, before laying down and wrapping his arms around Virgil's waist, nuzzling his face against the younger males neck.

"I need to go, or they'll send someone up here to come get me." Virgil said.

"On the contrary Virgil, I will be going out for a bit to have a chat, so no one should disturb you for quite a bit." Logan said from where he was leaning against the wall next to the bed. "You can stay here with these two and relax," he said. 

"I'll be back soon." He added before turning and walking away and out of the room despite Virgil still trying to convince them that he really needed to go to classes, but Logan could tell he'd be back asleep in a few minutes, that is if his yawning had anything to say about it.

The bedroom door closed behind him and he began the walk up to the tea room. He had plans to talk to them at lunch, but decided breakfast would also suffice as well, especially since it allowed them to keep Virgil in bed that morning.

He made his way up the stairs, nodding to the guards curtly as he passed them, before stopping in front of a pair of dark and beautiful wooden doors.

He took a small deep breath before knocking on the door, waiting for permission to enter before opening it.

He stepped inside the small yet well decorated room, and nodded politely to the king and queen sitting at the table. Virgil would usually join them for breakfast, but it was rather obvious that he wouldn't be today.

"Ah, you're one of Virgil's friends, Logan correct?" The king asked with a smile. "Come sit, we were about to start breakfast." He said as he gestured to a chair.

"Thank you your majesties, but I am not hungry at this moment." He said as he sat down in the chair, his back straight and his hands folded in his lap.

"Well, that is alright, but feel free to join in if you wish to." the king said.

"Might I ask where Virgil is?" The queen asked from where she was sitting. "He usually joins us." She added.

"Virgil should currently asleep, my other friends Patton and Roman should be making sure he's resting properly." Logan explained.

"Sleeping? But he has a lesson in less than an hour." The Queen said in confusion.

"That is partially why I've come to speak with you," Logan began. "I don't know if either the two of you have noticed or have been made aware by the staff, but Virgil has not been getting the adequate amount of sleep per night as of late, and has been extremely busy with his lessons as well, giving him no time to rest," Logan explained. "It is with in my reasoning to believe that if Virgil continues on this way he will either collapse from exhaustion or become ill." He said.

"Which is why I'd like to discuss with you about changing Virgil's schedule." He concluded.

The two parents stared at him for a few seconds, before the queen sighed softly.

"I knew it was going to be to much on him." She said softly. "I thought he could handle it, I'm sorry if we caused you and your friends to worry." She said to Logan.

"We do not blame you," Logan said. "But we will most likely be upset if you do not change his schedule, the three of us care for Virgil, and wish the best for him." He said.

The king and queen glanced at each other before nodding.

"Well," the king began. "What do you propose?" He asked.

And that's how Logan spent then next almost two hours discussing how much sleep Virgil should be getting, what time he should start classes, the number of classes he had in a day, what classes he had in what days and so on. Logan was exceptionally proud of himself for convincing his boyfriend's parents to give Virgil both Saturday and Sunday as free days, along with more breaks in the day, and more time to sleep at night.

It had taken a while, but they soon had the weekly schedule written up, a copy for Logan to give to Virgil, and a copy for the king and queen to keep as to show to all of Virgil's instructors.

When they had finished Logan bid them farewell before leaving the room and heading back to Virgil's bedroom.

When he stepped inside he found Virgil laying on his stomach with his head in Patton's lap and Roman straddling his hips, all three of them were shirtless.

Virgil groaned softly as Roman continued to massage his back, leaning into Patton's touch as the other male massaged his scalp as well.

Virgil was like putty in their hands, completely relaxed and limp between them.

Logan smiled and closed the door behind him with a soft click, gaining the attention of the others.

"Logan," Virgil groaned as he turned his head to look at him, his eyes closed and his face relaxed. "Help me, I can't feel my limbs." He mumbled.

"It's cause I'm massaging you and your extremely tense muscles are finally relaxing," Roman said. "I haven't even massaged your arms or legs yet anyway, so just wait until I do." He added.

Virgil groaned again and re-buried his face in Patton's lap, blushing brightly as Patton laughed and continued to play with his hair and massage his scalp.

"Well, I'm that you're relaxing." Logan said with a smile as he walked across the room and trailed his fingers up Virgil's spine where Roman wasn't massaging.

Virgil shivered at the touch and mumbled something about his fingers being cold.

"How did your talk go?" Roman asked as he tug his thumbs into a tender spot on Virgil's back.

"It went quiet well," Logan said as he sat on the edge of the bed. "His parents agreed and apologized, and we developed a new schedule for Virgil." He said.

"You did what?!" Virgil asked in surprise as he jerked up and tried to turn around to look at him, only for Roman to push him down again, Patton gripping his hair a little bit tighter to keep his head in his lap, not letting him sit up.

"Geez can't you sit still." Roman mumbled. "Now some of your muscles are all tense again, not as tense as before though." He added with a pout before moving is hands back up to re-massage some of his muscles again.

Virgil huffed, not really caring about his stupid muscles right now.

"We made a new schedule for you Virgil," logan repeated. "I brought up my concerns for your health to your parents and they agreed to change your schedule." He said. "I'll show it to you when these two are done." He said. "Just know that you have the rest of today and tomorrow free." He added with a smile.

"I was fine, you didn't need to do that." Virgil mumbled softly.

"No, you weren't fine." Logan said, his voice having an edge of seriousness in it. "You were barely sleeping and never had enough time for yourself," he said. "You came back last night and basically passed out the moment your head touched the mattress." He said as he crossed his arms. 

"You've also been eating less." Patton added.

"Yes, that as well," Logan said. "None of that is healthy, so I expressed my concerns to your parents." He said.

"They didn't realize how taxing their schedule had been on you, and readily agreed to change it so that you'd be more comfortable." He said.

Virgil sighed softly, but couldn't help the small smile that appeared on his face.

"Well, I still would have liked it if you told me before hand," he began, "but thank you." He said with a small blush.

Logan smiled. "There's no need to thank me at all love," he said softly as he leaned down to kiss the top of Virgil's head.

"Now, I'm going to go shower and change into something more comfortable," Logan said as he stood up. "I'll be back soon." He said.

Virgil gave him a thumbs up before groaning softly as Roman duh his thumbs into a very tense spot on his lower back, relaxing even more as Romans fingers unwound the stress-induced knots in his back.

"This better not become a regular thing." He mumbled.

It most definitely was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: feel free to continue putting in requests if you have any, I'm open to requests at any time. You can also put in multiple requests if you want. And you can ether comment them or pm me, I don't mind either way.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Roman, Patton, Logan and Virgil spend the day trying to lose the guards, then they finally succeed and have a nice sunset picnic but then the guards find them and they get in trouble."  
Also combined with:  
"Virgil goes to the beach for the first time."

"Oh come on Specs you agreed we could do this once a month." Roman whined.

"I did no such thing." Logan insisted.

"You sir, are a liar," Roman said. "I'm giving all of the kisses reserved for you to Patton and Virgil now." He said as he stuck his tongue out at him.

"Whatever you say." Logan said with a shrug.

"Pleeasse Logan-Berry, it'll be fun." Patton said, wrapping his arms around Logan from behind and pressing a kiss to his neck.

Logan blushed at the nickname, before sighing softly.

"I suppose..." he mumbled.

"Yes!" Roman said excitedly before turning to where Virgil had been laying and watching them banter in amusement.

"Come on beautiful, you gotta get dressed." He said as he picked him up in one swift motion and pressed a kiss to his neck right above his pulse.

Virgil squeaked slightly when he was swept up off the bed.  
"Oh stop it princy," virgil said with a half-hearted glare and a blush, gently pushing Roman away. "I can get up and dress myself, thank you very much." He said before slipping out of Romans hold and dusting himself off.

Roman pouted. "Fine, but that means I get to cuddle with you later." He said.

Virgil rolled his eyes with a smile, "Whatever you want." He said before walking over to his wardrobe.

"Pat, can you go to the kitchen and set up a basket for us? And Berry can you write up a note for his parents? So that they don worry." Roman asked.

Patton grinned and nodded before rushing out of the room, soon followed by a blushing Logan, who had agreed to write the note.

"What exactly do you wear at a beach?" Virgil asked.

"Well it depends on the time of year," Roman said as he sat down on the edge of the bed. "Around this time of year I'd say a pair of shorts and a loose shirt would do fine." He said.

"Alright," Virgil said, digging around a bit before pulling out the clothing items that Roman had said, gaining a nod of approval from Roman.

"I'm going to go grab a few things, I'll be back soon." Roman said as he got up and pressed a kiss to Virgil's cheek before rushing out of the room excitedly.

Virgil rolled his eyes fondly and went about getting changed.

It wasn't until twenty minutes later that the four of them all met back up in Virgil's room. Patton carrying a large picnic basket, Roman with two large blankets, and Logan with the note to Virgil's parents.

They'd all found the time to change into similar clothes to the ones that Virgil was wearing.

"So how are we sneaking out?" Virgil asked. 

"We'll go out through the back of the gardens and loop around the front." Logan said. "We just need to plant the note first." He added.

"We could just leave it on my desk or my bed." Virgil suggested. "This'll be the first place they look anyway." He added.

"That's true." Logan said, before walking over and setting the letter on the edge of his bed, the thick cream colored paper standing out against the dark violet blanket.

Roman packed the two blankets up in the picnic basket with the food Patton had gotten, and the four of them began their escape.

They waited inside Virgil's room until they heard the guard's moving from their posts outside Virgil's door, which left them a minute to get out of the room and down the hallway before the next pair of guards showed up.

They made it around the corner at the end of the hall, walking as fast and as quiet as they could.

They spent the rest of the time sneaking out that way, ducking behind corners and curtains and suits of armor when they heard the guards or servants walking around, and ended up slipping through a window and into the gardens, ducking behind a few rose bushes as quickly as possible.

The quickly made their way through the garden and out of the back exit before looping around the outside of the castle and traveling along the road till they got into town.

There were still guards about, along with people who would most definitely recognize Virgil, so the quartet stuck to the less busy streets and the shadows, ducking through narrow alleyways when necessary.

They eventually, after almost getting caught several times, made it to the docks.

They made their way along the docks until it gave way to the beach.

This beach was decently populated though, which small children playing in the sand while their parents watched or swam.

"I don't know how you're not expecting for us to get caught here." Virgil said softly to Roman as the four of them continued to walk.

"We're not going to that beach, there's a cove twenty or so minutes that way that shouldn't have people near it, and if it does then there's another one a few miles after that." Roman explained.

The walked until they had eventually left the city and wear now traveling down a well beaten path that was shaded by tall overhanging trees, a warm breeze blowing through the branches.

"Do you know how to swim Virgil?" Patton asked.

"I know that moving your legs and arms decreases the chance of dying." He said, earning a giggle from Patton. "But no, not really." He added.

"That is technically true..." Roman said, although it really wasn't.

"We can teach you!" Patton said with a grin. "Roman and Logan are really good swimmers."

"And what about you Pat?" Virgil asked.

"I usually just float or stay in the shallows." He admitted. "But I can swim if I need to or if I decide I want to." He added.

Virgil smiled. "I might stick around with you in the shallows." He said.

"That's fine," Patton said as he reached over to hold Virgil's hand as they walked. "You don't have to do anything your not comfortable with."

"Patton's is right," Logan began. "Although it might be good for you to at least learn some of the basics, like floating on your back, how to tread water, and how to do a basic stroke." He said. "But some of those can wait for later." He added.

"Today is a chill day though, so don't worry about anything." Roman said, moving over to kiss Virgil's cheek and then Patton's cheek, before turning to Logan and giving him a peck on the lips, prompting all three of them to blush as Roman chuckled softly.

They eventually made it to the cove Roman had been talking about, and it was -thankfully- empty.

It was a small sandy beach that looked like it had been cut out of the cliffside with a knife. It had large rocky walls that went out into the water for a few feet before breaking off into singular large rocks sprinkled throughout the warm blue water. Part of the beach was shaded, and there were several trees around the edges of the sand that cast a bit more shade as well.

It was a beautiful beach, and had no other people at it from the looks of it.

"It's really nice isn't it." Roman said as he looked his arms around Logan's waist and rested his head on the other males shoulder as he looked at virgil. 

"Yeah it is." Virgil said softly as Patton gently squeezed his hand.

Roman lead them down a steep and narrow path that put them directly onto the sand, and told them to help him try and find a good spot to set up their blankets and their picnic basket.

"I think around here looks good." Patton said as he walked over to a spot that was partially covered by the shade on one side, and was close to the water, but not close enough that they'd get wet, until the tide came in that is.

"It's perfect," Roman said. "Mind helping me set up a bit?" He asked as he set the picnic basket down, having taken it from Logan, who had been carrying it after Patton.

They spread out one of the large blankets on the sand and each sat down on it, Virgil holding Patton in his lap.

"Do we want to eat first or go play in the water, or something else?" Roman asked.

"I'm fine with doing whatever." Virgil said softly as he pressed a kiss to the top of Patton's head, making the blonde smile brightly.

"I wanna go swim for a bit," Patton said. "Maybe just sit in the shallows even." He added.

"I want to go sit on one of the rocks out there." Roman said. "Maybe dive off of one of the bigger ones if the waters deep enough."

"I plan on reading my book for a bit, but I may join in on the swimming in a bit.  
"If you'd like to join me Virgil I would appreciate your company." He added with a small blush.

Virgil smiled over at him. "Sure," he said. "I don't mind siting with you." He added.

"We'll eat in a bit then." Roman said, before shifting closer to each of them, pressing kisses to their cheeks. "I'm gonna go get in the water now." He said as he stood up, pulling his shirt off.

"Me too," Patton said with a grin as he got out of Virgil's lap, pressing a kiss to said makes forehead before pulling his shirt off as well and grabbing Romans wrist, dragging him to the water with an excited smile.

Virgil laughed softly as he turned to logan. "Where do you want to read Specs?" He asked.

"We can go sit in the shade over there." He said, gesturing to a few trees as he stood up.

Virgil stood up as well, and walked over to the trees with him, finding a nice grassy spot to sit down.

He sat down, leaning against one of the trees, and spread his legs a bit.

"Come sit." He said as he patted the now open space between his knees.

Logan blushed the smallest bit but nodded, moving to sit between Virgil's legs and lean back against Virgil's chest.

"Can I play with your hair?" He asked.

Logan nodded. "Sure." He said as he shifted a bit to get comfortable, before opening up his book to read.

Virgil rested his elbows on Logan's shoulders and began to gently card his fingers through Logan's shirt dark locks. They felt soft and smooth, with no tangles or anything.

He hummed softly and continued to run his fingers through his hair, while gently massaging his scalp as well, which prompted Logan to relax against Virgil's chest even more.

They could hear Roman and Patton play in the water in the background, but it wasn't annoying, it was a nice sound.

They stayed like that for a while, just sitting quietly as Virgil played with Logans hair while the older teen read his book.

Virgil eventually stopped playing with his hair, and decided to snake his arms around Logan's waist and hold him close instead, burying his face in the crook of Logan's neck.

"I love you." Virgil mumbled softly against his pale skin, drawing a out a smile on Logan's face.

"I love you too." Logan said, before quietly closing his book.

"May I kiss you?" He asked softly.

Virgil blushed and nodded, moving his head farther over Logan's shoulder.

Logan turned his face and smiled before gently capturing Virgil's lips in a kiss, lifting his hand to cup Virgil's cheek as well.

Virgil hummed softly and closed his eyes as he leaned into the touch.

The kiss didn't last long, only a few more seconds before they pulled away.

"I think I'm done reading for now," Logan said as he sat up a little and turned around in Virgil's hold so that they were facing each other. "How do you feel about a nap?" He asked.

"Sounds amazing." Virgil said as he shifted down a bit into a more comfortable position, while Logan shifted with him and rested his head on Virgil's chest.

They eventually dozed off in the afternoon heat, not entirely asleep, but not really awake either.

Patton and Roman came over some forty to fifty minutes later soaking wet and tired from their playing, and smiled as they saw the two of them napping together.

"Should we let them sleep or..." Patton asked, trailing off as he looked over at Roman.

"Nah," he said with a smile. "I wanna wake them up, but sweetly and nicely." 

Parton smiled and nodded in agreement.

Roman knelt next go where Virgil was leaning against the tree, and gently carded his fingers through his hair, smiling as Virgil hummed and leaned into the touch.

"Virgil, babe, time to get up." He said softly, moving so that his mouth was closer to Virgil's ear.

Virgil's face scrunched up a bit for a few seconds before his eyes slowly opened and he looked up at Roman.

"There you are," Roman said softly as he gave Virgil a loving smile. "Did you have a nice nap?" He asked.

Virgil hummed again as he nodded. "I did." He said softly, nuzzling his nose against Romans palm.

"Are you hungry at all?" Roman asked as he gently brushed Virgil's hair out of his face with his other hand.

Virgil nodded again, before looking down as Logan moved, the taller teen having been woken up by Patton.

"Come on sleepyheads," Patton said. "Let's go back over to the blanket."

The two helped Logan and Virgil to their feet and lead them back over to the blanket, Virgil immediately tucking himself into Roman's lap as he yawned softly.

"What all did you bring Pat?" Roman asked as he wrapped his arms around Virgils waist and rested his chin on the top of the other males head.

"I got some sandwiches, some nuts, a bunch of berries, and even a bit of chocolate." Patton said with a grin, setting out the food on the blanket in front of them. 

The four of them began to eat the food, Roman feeding bites of berries and nuts to Virgil, along with a few pieces of chocolate, gaining small kisses as Thank you's.

"It's really nice today." Patton said as he laid down on his back and looked up at the sky. It was the afternoon now, probably a little after two or three.

"It is indeed," Logan agreed. "Hardly a cloud in the sky."

"And the water is warm." Roman said as he pressed a kiss to the crook of Virgil's neck, making him blush and smile.

"Want to go swim?" Virgil asked as he tilted his head back to look at Roman.

"I'd love to." He said. "Do either of you guys want to?" He asked as he looked up and over at Logan and Patton.

"Sure!" Patron said with a grin as he sat back up.

"I'd be willing to." Logan said with a small smile. "We should clean up first though." He added.

The four of them quickly cleaned up what was left of the food before heading over to the water.

Virgil was a bit hesitant to take his shirt off, but eventually did, knowing the others had seen him without a shirt before and he had nothing to worry about.

He carefully walked into the warm water, and Roman quickly came over to him.

"I'm gunna go dive off of that rock over there," Roman said as he pointed over at the rock. "Want to come join me?"

"Heck no." Virgil said. "You can go diving off of rocks all you want but I will be staying down here."

Roman laughed softly and pressed a kiss to Virgil cheek. "Watch me at least?" He asked.

"I suppose I could do that." Virgil said with a small smirk.

He watched as Roman smiled broadly before quickly wading through the water before beginning to swim towards one of the taller rocks in the deeper water.

Virgil laughed softly before wading his way over to Patton and Logan.

"Princey's gunna jump off the rock." He said as he sat down in the warm shallow water next to them, the water only going up to his rib cage.

"If he hurts himself then it's his own fault." Logan said from where he was leaning against Patton's shoulder.

"But you know CPR and stuff, so we'll be fine if he does hurt himself." Patton said as he pressed a kiss to Logan's forehead.

"Let's just hope he doesn't hurt himself." Virgil said.

The three watched Roman as he began to climb up the side of the tall rock. It was pretty far away from them, and the water around it looked pretty deep, but Virgil still chewed on his lip anxiously.

He eventually made it to the top of the rock, waving down at them with a wide grin.

"READY!?" He yelled down to them, cupping his hands around his mouth.

Virgil gave a thumbs up as Patton yelled back that they were, and leaned back against Logan as the other teen pulled him into his lap, wrapping his arms around his waist.

Roman smiled and walked over to the edge of the rock, staring down at the water for a few seconds before backing up a few steps.

He took a large breath, and rushed forwards before jumping off the ledge, curling up into a ball as he began his speedy descent.

It was only a few seconds, less than that even, before he hit the water, a large splash emanating from the spot where he'd hit the water.

Roman popped up a few seconds later with a large grin, treading water so that he could stay afloat.

"Good job Roman!!" Patton yelled to him, waving as well.

Romans grin grew larger and he quickly swam over to them.

"Thank you Patton." He said as he pressed a kiss to said males cheek.

"Are you sure you don't want to give it a try Virgil?" Roman asked teasingly.

"Nope, there are so many ways you could die from doing that and I'm sure I'd at least do two of them." Virgil said as he leaned farther back against Logan, feeling his arms tighten around his waist a little bit.

"Technically the chances of you dying are infinitesimal," Logan said. "It is highly unlikely that you'd die from jumping unless you hit your head on the way down, fainted, or gut hurt on impact or by something under the water, along with a couple other factors and such." He added.

"And those things still have a chance of happening, so never will I ever do it unless I need to do it." He said.

"You don't need to do anything you don't want to." Patton said. "I also don't want to jump, so I'm not going to." He said.

"How about we teach Virgil how to float?" Roman said. "It'll get dark in an hour or two, so we can't swim around for much longer unless we want to swim in cold water, but it'll be fun." He said.

"I don't know princey..." Virgil trailed off.

"Oh come on V, it'll be fun." Roman said.

"But you don't have to if you really don't want to." Patton reassured him.

"I...guess I'll give it a try." Virgil said. "At least for a little bit." He added.

He carefully got out of Logan's lap and reluctantly let Patton lead him into the deeper water, only stopping when it was run deep while they were standing, Logan and Roman staying a bit farther in to give them space, not wanting to crowd Virgil while he was nervous.

"So," Patton began. "What I want you to do it to take a large deep breath and lift your feet off the ground." He said. "Then I'll gently rip you backwards, you don't need to hold your breath or anything, just don't not breath." He said with a small giggle.

"You won't let me go under, right?" Virgil asked nervously as he chewed on his bottom lip, starting to think that this wasn't the best idea. The water was so deep and dark, and what if Patton accidentally let him go and he drifted even farther out, and then it was too deep to touch the ground and he couldn't swim back and he was swept away by the currents Logan had told him about, or what if a shark or some other kind of terrifying sea creature came out of the water, like the ones fathwe had told him about, he shouldn't be doing this, he isn't safe, he's going to drown out in the middle of the-

"Virgil, can you take a deep breath for me?"

Virgil flinched slightly and slowly lifted his eyes up to look at Patton.

"Just take a nice deep breath, okay? Not for the floating or anything, just breath." Patton said softly.

Virgil nodded slightly and took a large breath and held it for a second before slowly letting it out, doing it again a few times when prompted by Patton.

"There we go," Patton said with a warm smile. "Now, would moving a bit closer to shore make you more comfortable?" He asked.

Virgil bit his lip and hesitantly nodded. "Sorry." He mumbled.

"Hey, no no, don't be sorry," Patton said. "You have nothing to be sorry about, it's okay to not be comfortable."

Virgil looked away and stayed quiet as Parton gently took his hand and lead him a bit closer to shore, the water now just above his hips.

"Is here good?" Patton asked. "We can go farther in if you want." He said.

"Here's fine..." Virgil said softly, not looking at Patton.

Patton nodded and gently squeezed his hand before letting go.

"We're going to do it a bit differently this time," he began. "I still want you to take a deep breath, but now all I want you to do is just lean back and let me guide you into laying down." He said. "Again, you can still breath, just keep your breaths as steady as you can." He said.

Virgil nodded and glanced down at the water.

"Ready?" Patton asked softly.

Virgil nodded and took a deep breath before slightly leaning backwards, allowing Patton to guide his body down.

He felt a hand underneath his legs, gently pulling them up so that they weren't touching the ground anymore, which freaked him out a little bit, but he just closed his eyes and tried to ignore it.

"You're doing great V." Patton said reassuringly.

Virgil felt his face flush and knew his cheeks were probably red but he couldn't bring himself to care at the moment.

He felt Patton tilt his head back a bit more and touch the water, to the point where his ears went under, making him jerk up in Patton's hold, quickly bringing his feet back under him as he flailed a little bit.

"Hey, you're okay." Patton said softly as he placed a hand on Virgil's back.

"Sorry," Virgil said. "I-I..."

"There's no need to apologize," Patton said. "Do you want me to go get the others?" He asked.

Virgil shook his head no. "N-no I'm fine," he said. "Let's...let's try it again." He said.

"We don't have to if you don't want to," Patton said. "You don't need to do anything you don't want to do." He said.

"No I want to try again," he said. "I can do it." He said.

"Well, if you're sure..." Patton said.

"We just going to do the same thing again, alright? Your feet won't touch the ground and your head will partially be in the water, but not all the way." He said.

Virgil nodded. "Alright." He said, before taking a deep breath and tilting backwards a bit, letting Patton guide him down again.

"You're heads going to touch the water." Patton warned him a few seconds before his head did touch the water.

Virgil didn't jerk away this time though, forcing himself to suck it up and try and do what Patton had told him, keep his breathing steady.

"There you go," Patton said. "Can I take my hands away? You should be able to float on your own now." He said.

"U-um..."

"I can keep my hands here if you want, whatever makes you comfortable Virgil." Patton said.

"You can take them away if you want." Virgil said. "I'll be fine."

"If you're sure," Patton said, before slowly pulling his hands away.

Virgil felt his body sink a little lower and he squeezed his eyes shut as his breath hitched.

"Keep breathing V, you're doing great." Patton said reassuringly.

Virgil nodded slightly and began to take a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself down.

After a while he began to grow used to it, and although he didn't really like it all that much, floating wasn't as scary as he'd originally thought, at least not when Patton was standing next to him and holding his hand.

"I think I'm done for now." Virgil said after maybe ten or so minutes as he slowly righted himself, standing on his feet again.

"That's okay, you did really good today Virgil!" Patton said with an excited grin as he kissed him in the cheek.

The two of them headed back over to Roman and Logan and began to mess around with them, splashing water back and forth at one another.

The day wore on, the quartet playing on the beach as they are their snacks and swam in the water, enjoying the time in the sun.

It began to grow dark though, the sun setting on the edge of the sea ahead of them.

"Come over here," Roman said as he sat down on the blanket and picked up the second one they had brought, draping it over his shoulders while holding his arms out for them, inviting the other three under the blanket.

Patton beamed and rushed over, snuggling himself against Roman's side, tucking himself under his arm.

Logan and Virgil smiled at Patton's excitement and walked over as well, Virgil curling up on Romans other side, why Logan was dragged and forced into Romans lap by Patton after he'd hesitated.

"We gunna watch the sunset?" Virgil asked as he snuggled closer to roman, smiling as he felt Romans arm wrap around his shoulders and hold him closer.

"Yup, it's really pretty to watch from here." Roman said.

The four of them snuggled closer together, Roman wrapping the blanket around them even tighter, and they watched as the sun began to creep below the ocean, the sky turning deep orange and red as it sunk further into the sea.

"It's so pretty." Patton mumbled softly as he gently drew shapes with his finger in the palm of Logan's hand.

The night grew darker as the sun continued to sink beneath the waves, and both Patton and Virgil ended up dozing off as they snuggled close to Roman.

"We should start heading back now," Roman mumbled softly as he pressed a kiss to the crook of Logan's neck.

"That would be a good thing to do." Logan said as he tilted his head back slightly. "We don't need the king and queen to panic." He added.

"I don't want to wake them up though," Roman said softly as he glanced down at the two sleeping on either side of him. "Could we carry them?" He asked.

"Not with the picnic basket," Logan said. "And some guards in the city might freak out if we're seen carrying a sleeping virgil." He added.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Roman said with a pout. "Will you wake Patton up? And I'll handle Virgil?" He asked.

"Sure." Logan said, before reluctantly crawling out of Romans lap.

Roman turned to the side Virgil was pressed up against, and smiled as he gently brushed his fingers along his cheekbones, thinking that the other male looked so sweet and cute while he was asleep.

He gently began to shake his shoulder. "Virgil, sweetheart, you need to wake up now." He said softly, moving his mouth so that it was next to Virgil's ear.

Virgil's face scrunched up a little bit, a small groan escaping his mouth as he reluctantly opened his eyes.

"Don't want to..." he mumbled, snuggling closer to Roman.

"Oh come on V, you gotta get up so we can get back to the castle." He said. "I promise to snuggle with you when we get back." He added.

Virgil grumbled softly before pushing himself to sit up, rubbing his face with one hand. "Fine, But we're sleeping in tomorrow." He added.

"I can agree to that." Roman said with a grin as he pressed a kiss to Virgil's cheek.

"You guys ready to go?" Logan asked from where he was kneeling next to an awake, but still sleepy, Patton.

"Yeah, let's just gather the blankets up." Roman said.

"I'm carrying this one." Patton said as he wrapped the blanket they'd just been under around himself, gaining a small laugh from Roman.

"Okay pat," He said with a grin. "Hey Specs, can you help me shake the sand out of the other blanket?" He asked as he and Virgil stood up.

"Of course." Logan said as both him and Patton got up as well.

The two of the shook off the blanket before folding it up and putting it into the basket, and turned around to find Patton kissing at Virgil's neck not to far away.

"Remember, no marks he can't hide easily." Roman said as he walked over to them, carrying the basket.

"I know," Patton said. "I only made a few marks, which can be covered by his shirt." Patton said.

"I don't want to go back yet." Virgil said softly, his eyes still sleepy and his face still flushed from what Patton had been doing.

"We need to, before it gets to dark." Logan said. "We'll come back here again though, don't worry." He added.

Virgil sighed before nodding. "Okay." He said.

"Time to go." Roman said, before leading them back up the the path they'd walked on earlier.

Now that the sun had gone down it was getting dark pretty fast, so the moved quickly along the path and through the town so that they weren't stuck walking in the dark.

As they walked through the city they were eventually spotted by a pair of guards who quickly rushed over to them.

"Your highness, the queen and king have been looking for you everywhere." One of the said as they began to usher the quartet towards the castle.

"We left them a note though?" Virgil said as he quickened his pace a bit.

"Yes and they found it, but we had some important visitors today who wanted to meet you now that you've returned to the kingdom, and your parents had to make up an excuse to postpone the meeting till tomorrow." One of them told him as they lead them through the gates.

"why didn't they mention anything yesterday or something? Told me ahead of time." Virgil asked.

"I don't know your highness," one of the guards said as they were lead into the castle.

"But your parents want to talk with you now that your back." The other said.

Virgil glanced over at the other three, who each shrugged in response.

"You three can go to your rooms, we'll take the prince to his parents and then off to bed." One of the guard's said.

Logan, Roman and Patton hesitated, looking at Virgil, but eventually left as Virgil gestured for them to go, not wanting any arguing.

The two guards lead Virgil to the tea room where they said his parents were worrying, and dropped him off outside the door.

"We need to go tell the head of the guards that you've been found, then we'll be back." One said before they both rushed off.

Virgil didn't even say goodbye as he stared at the door, anxiety welling up inside of him over what his parents were going to say.

He took a deep breath and slowly opened the door, wincing as it creaked loudly.

The moment he was in the room his parents where there, hugging him and touching his face as they talked about how worried they'd been and why he hadn't been back before dark, and how much trouble he was in.

"Where were you? The guards couldn't find you anywhere." His mother said as she looked him over.

"I was at the beach," Virgil said quietly, looking at the ground.

"I know we said you could go out sometimes if you told us, but there were some people you were supposed to meet Virgil, and you'll be meeting them tomorrow so you'd better not pull another stunt like this," she said, poking his chest with every word to emphasize her point.

"I won't, I promise," Virgil said. "I'm sorry for making you worry and I'm sorry about the meeting, and I promise I'll be there tomorrow and I'll be on my best behavior, and-"

"That's enough Virgil," His father said. "We understand that you're sorry, and appreciate your promises," he began. "But we should apologize as well." He said.

Virgil looked up at him. "What do you mean? You didn't do-" he stopped talking when his father raised a hand to ask him to stop.

"If we had told you about the meeting I know you wouldn't have gone out with your friends, it's our fault for not telling you before hand that you thought it was alright to go out." He said. "Although, maybe next time you could tell us in person where you're going? And we might need to set up a curfew for you, we don't want you out at night." He added.

Virgil quickly nodded. "I promise I'll tell you in person next time, and I'm okay with a curfew." He said.

"Seven pm." His mother said, much to Virgil's dismay, that was rather early.

"How about nine pm?" His father said, having noticed Virgil's shoulder slump a bit. "And maybe a bit later for special occasions." He added.

"Isn't that a bit late for him to be out and about?" His mother asked as she chewed on her lip.

"How about seven if he's alone, but nine if he's with friends or guards? Along with the special occasions stuff." His father asked, trying to compromise.

His mother hesitated, before nodding.  
"Alright..." She said. "But not to far our of town and such." She quickly added.

Virgil nodded quickly. "I promise, no later then seven or nine, not to far away, and I'll tell you in person before hand." He summarized.

His mother nodded, before hugging him, only for a few seconds though, since his father placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I think Virgil should be going to bed now, he does have that meeting tomorrow." He said.

The queen let him go and nodded. "Alright," She said. "Off you go, and don't stay up too late." She said.

Virgil nodded again. "I won't," he said, before stepping out of the room.

The two guards had come back by now, and quickly escorted him to his room, where he bid them Goodnight before stepping inside.

He found Roman, Logan and Patton in his room, the three of them hidden against the wall the door way couldn't see, so that if anyone came in they'd have to walk all the way in the room to see them.

Patton quickly rushed forwards, cupping Virgil's cheeks as he began rambling. "How did it go? Where they mad? Are you in trouble? What did-" he was cut off by a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Patton, maybe you should let Virgil tell us what happened." Logan said.

Patton blushed slightly and nodded as he sheepishly let go of Virgil's face.

"Well," Virgil began. "They weren't exactly mad, mostly just worried and disappointed, kind of." He said as he sat down on the edge of the bed. "They accepted my apology and apologized to me for not telling me about the meeting before hand. So they're not really mad, but I do have a curfew now, and I need to tell them in person if I ever plan on leaving." He said.

"What's your curfew?" Roman asked.

"Seven if I'm by myself, nine if I'm with friends or guards or have special permission." He said as Patton got into his lap.

"Well, at least your not in a bunch of trouble." Patton said. "I'd feel so bad if you were." He said.

"It wouldn't have been your fault." Virgil said. "But it will be your fault if I don't go to bed soon like they asked me to." He said. "Princy over here promised me cuddles when we got back, but you two are free to join if you want to." He said. "You also don't have to if you don't want." He added.

"Of course I want to!" Patton said as he wrapped his arms around him and snuggled closer.

"I would like to as well." Logan said with a small smile, that Virgil thought looked adorable.

"Then turn off the lights and get over here." He said with a smile, before flopping back into the bed, only bothering to kick his shoes off.

Both Logan and Roman quickly turned the lights off, while Patton and Virgil got comfortable on the bed, Patton wrapped around Virgil's back, his arms around the only slightly younger males waist.

Roman crawled into the bed on Virgil's other side,eating Virgil snuggle up against his chest as Logan got in on the other side of Patton, wrapping an arm over him.

"G'night." Virgil said softly, pressing a kiss to Roman throat.

" 'night." Roman said with a hum.

"Sweet dreams." Patton mumbled against the back of Virgil's neck.

"Goodnight." Logan said.

“See you in the morning.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! How was that? Good I hope. Sorry for the wait, this chapter ended up much longer than I planned, finishing off at a whopping 6450~ words or so.  
Anywho, I hoped you liked it, I’ll try to update again soon!


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "there is going to be a ball, and they all need to get snazzied up and ready. Basically them getting all dressed up, going to a ball, and sneaking away at some point cause his boyfriends are really hot and he really wants to kiss them."
> 
> Note: there will be lots of making out and kissing in this, like a lot, and all the time, I hope you're ready.  
I'm not going to put warnings before every single make out segment, cause that would be a lot.  
Just know that it will happen a lot.  
And it gets a bit steamy at some points, you have been warned.  
(I did end up adding a warning at the steamiest part though)

"Well don't you look handsome." Roman said as Virgil came back into his room after meeting with his tailor.

He was wearing an off-white button up that had frills along the buttons and on the edges of his sleeves, with a thick deep grape purple vest that had tails running down the back ends, the rest of it hugging Virgil's thin yet healthy frame nicely, with black embroidery and golden buttons lining the vest as well. He also had a pair of thick black slacks on and black boots as well, with golden clasps on said boots.

He had apparently also seen a barber, who'd given his hair a small trim and had styled it nicely.

"Oh just wait princy, you three are getting all dressed up next." Virgil said with a smile.

"We are?" Patton asked.

"Well yeah, if you're going to the ball with me then you three need to be all fancy as well." Virgil said.

"We're going with you!" Patton said with a squeal as he jumped up off the bed.

"I asked my dad and he was able to pull a few strings." Virgil said with a shrug. "Now hurry, you three need to get ready." He said, laughing softly as Patton and Roman quickly rushed out, each pressing a kiss to his cheek on their way past.

"That means you too Logan." Virgil said as he looked at the other male.

"I'll head down shortly," Logan said as he stood in front of Virgil and gently cupped his jaw. "As soon as I'm done with this." He said before giving Virgil a gentle, sugar sweet kiss, moving in slowly and giving him enough time to pull away if he wanted to.

Virgil hummed softly and closed his eyes as he kissed him back, draping his arms over Logan's shoulders.

Logan's lips were soft yet slightly chapped but not as much as Virgil knew his own were, and logan tasted like blackberries and mint, which he assumed was what Logan had had to eat during their afternoon tea that day a few hours ago.

Logan wrapped his arms around Virgil's waist and held him closer as he gently began to nibble at Virgil's lower lip, pressing their bodies together as he drew out small groans from Virgil, who relaxed in the warmth of Logans body.

They only pulled away when they needed to breath, the two of them gasping softly as they both opened their eyes, a thin trail of saliva connecting their mouths as a reminder to the kiss.

Virgil's bottom lip was strawberry red and slightly swollen, his cheeks flushed a bright cherry as well against his usually porcelain pale skin. He looked up at Logan with half lidded eyes, the usually bright amethysts looking much darker, before leaning in for another syrupy sweet kiss, this one only lasting a few seconds before Logan slowly pulled away.

"I need to go get ready now," Logan said softly as he reluctantly let go of Virgil's waist. "But expect more of this later this evening." He added with a small smile as he pressed a kiss to his forehead.

Virgil's blush darkened from a cherry to a plum as he nodded. "I look forward to it." He said with a shy smile as he let his arms slip down from Logan's shoulders, allowing the other to pull away.

"I'll be back soon with the others." Logan said, before stepping out of the room.

Virgil stayed inside his room as he waited for them to come back, allowing his blush to die down and for his lip to become less red and swollen.

The others eventually came back to his room twenty or so minutes later, each of them now all dressed up just like Virgil.

Roman wore a deep burgundy colored vest with black swirls embroidered onto it on top of an off-white button up with golden cuff links and golden buttons on the vest. He also wore black slacks and boots just like Virgil. His hair was the same as it usually was though.

Patton was wearing a frilly white button up with a light yet soft blue vest on top of it, with silver buttons and detailing. He was also wearing black slacks and black boots, his usually messy head of dirty blond curls styled a little bit as well.

Logan was wearing a deep navy blue vest with gold buttons over top a crisp white button up with no frills and golden cuff links. He wore black slacks and black boots as well, with golden clasps on the boots. His hair had also been styled and a little bit trimmed as well it seemed.

"Well, looks like I'm not the only one who looks handsome anymore." Virgil said with a smile.

"We all look so fancy." Patton said with a grin as he looked around at the others.

"When is the ball?" Logan asked.

"It starts in an hour, but our ride won't get here for another ten minutes." Virgil said.

"So we have enough time for kisses?" Roman asked as he walked over to him and slowly trailed a finger along the edge of his jaw.

Virgil hummed softly at the touch as it sent tingles across his skin and down his spine, and closed his eyes while reaching up and wrapping his arms around Romans neck, carding his fingers through his hair as he gently pulled his head down to his height."We most definitely have time for-" Virgil was cut off by a sharp and brisk knock on the door.

He opened his eyes and looked up at Roman with a questioning look, only reviving a shrug and confused look in response.

Logan walked forwards and opened the door, after Roman and Virgil had separated and stepped away from one another of course.

Outside his door stood two guards, both stood to attention just on the other side of the door frame.

"Your highness, the queen and king have requested that we escort you and your ensemble to your carriage now, you will be leaving earlier than your parents." One of the guards said. "They will join you at the ball shortly after you arrive." He added.

Virgil stepped forwards, his back straight as he nodded. "Thank you," He said. "Please, lead us to our carriage for the evening." He said in his most calm voice.

The two guards nodded before turning on their heels and making their way down the hall at a brisk pace.

Virgil and the others quickly followed the two guards outside and to the front of the castle, where a decently sized carriage stood, with two large black horses hooked up to it, the driver already in his seat.

One of the guards opened the single door to the carriage, bowing slightly.  
"Your highness." He said.

Virgil nodded to him politely before climbing into the carriage as elegantly as he could, perching himself on the seat farthest from the door and next to the window.

Logan quickly followed him inside, sitting across from him, while Roman sat next to Virgil and Patton sat next to Logan.

The guard closed and locked the carriage door securely, before telling the driver that they were ready, the two guards getting on horse back in order to follow the carriage.

Logan and Patton quickly closed the curtains to the few small windows inside the carriage in order to have a little privacy, leaving the only source of light to be the oil lamp attached to the wall next to them, casting a soft warm glow across the quartet.

The carriage lurch's slightly as the horses began to move, before steadying out with only the odd bump from the road here and there.

"So," Roman began softly as he turned to Virgil, gently reaching forward and pulling him close while also positioning them so that Roman was in between Virgil's legs and leaning over him as the slightly younger males back was pressed down against the plush cushion of their seat. 

"Think we have time to finish what we started?" He asked with a smirk as he trailed his fingers along the edge of his jaw and along his throat, feeling Virgil as he swallowed and feeling his pulse begin to speed up.

Virgil hummed softly. "I think we do," he said with a smile. "It's a good forty minutes before we're due to arrive." He said.

"Perfect." Roman said, "we'll just need to remember to be quiet." He added, before leaning down and kissing Virgil.

Romans lips weren't chapped at all, unlike Virgil and Logan's, and he tasted like rosemary and something savory that Virgil couldn't put his finger on it, but it was delicious and just as addicting as Logan's blackberry and mint taste nonetheless.

Virgil hummed into the kiss as he closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around Romans neck, feeling Roman wrap his own arms around Virgil's back and shoulders to support him as he gently nipped at Virgil's already tender bottom lip, causing Virgil's skin to tingle pleasantly, setting each nerve Romans hands touched on fire as well.

Virgil opened his mouth slowly and shyly, and let a small yet sweet moan escape from his throat as he felt Romans searing hot tongue immediately slip into his mouth, sending a spike of heat through Virgil's body as the tongue began to move around, making virgil squirm a little beneath him as a string of small sounds and soft moans was skillfully pulled out of Virgil's throat by Romans tongue.

Roman groaned softly and pulled away from Virgil's mouth for a few seconds.

"Remember, we need to be quiet." He said softly as he nipped at Virgil's bottom lip for a second before diving back in for another syrupy sweet kiss, pulling a blissed-out Virgil closer as he thoroughly explored his sugary sweet mouth with his tongue again.

The two of them continued to make out like this for a few minutes, soft gasps and small moans accidentally escaping them every now and then, and the carriage seemed to be growing warmer and warmer with each passing minute.

Neither knew what exactly Patton and Logan were doing, but they could guess based on a couple glances over at them revealing that Patton was in Logan's lap with his mouth pressed against a tender spot Logan's neck, while Logan's hands gripping the fabric on the back of Patton's vest tightly.

They all eventually slowed to a stop in their kissing, the only sounds being their gentle panting and the sounds from outside the carriage.

"Wow," Virgil said softly from where he was resting against Romans chest, his face a deep plum red and his lips semi-swollen and cherry colored, which made Roman want to kiss them again, wanting to taste their addicting sweetness again, but he stopped himself, knowing they needed a break to compose themselves before going to the party.

"Indeed." Logan agreed from where he sat across from them, a content Patton still in his lap. You couldn't see it any more, but under the collar of Logan's shirt he had a constellation of rosy pink hickeys on his neck where it molds into his shoulder and his collarbone.

The four of them managed to calm down and straighten themselves out, smoothing out any wrinkles and fixing their hair, before they arrived at where the ball was being held.

The carriage pulled to a halt and the guards soon opened the doors for them.

The quartet walked out of the carriage, nodding their thanks to the guards, before being escorted into the large building before them.

The ball was already in full swing, with people in expensive suits and large even more expensive dresses roaming about and socializing. No one was dancing yet, since the small orchestra off to the side was mostly playing quiet songs, but according to Virgil's parents there should be a portion of the ball that is just dancing.

And Virgil was expected to dance with a lot of important people, particularly noble women, members of the court, or princesses from other lands.

None of those included dancing with Roman, Logan, and Patton. Much to his dismay.

The group entered the party and began to mill around and socialize a bit, each on their best behavior as they waited for either the king and queen to arrive or for the dancing to begin.

Virgil, being the prince, was quickly whisked away by a tall man who climbed to be a royal advisor for one of the princesses, insisting that Virgil dance with her.

The other three, although they were jealous, watched Virgil as he danced around the ballroom, the music finally starting after he'd been introduced to the princess, which Roman accused of being deliberate, but Logan assured him it was probably a coincidence.

The queen and king arrived at the beginning of the next song, Virgil having been ushered towards another dance partner, this time a young girl who looked to be around twelve. 

"I hope they don't think Virgil would marry her." Logan said as he watched Virgil and the girl dance.

"They'd better not." Roman said.

After that song Virgil was paired up with a woman who looked very stiff and was a head taller than Virgil, and was probably in her thirties or forties.

"He's so small next to her." Patton said as he took a sip of his bubbly cider.

Logan had been roped into a conversation a while ago, so it was just Patton and Roman watching Virgil now, and Virgil had noticed -if the sudden plush strawberry blush on his face was anything to go by at least.

"What if I want to dance with him? I could sweep him off his feet then times better than any of these ladies could." Roman muttered with a sour pout, his arms crossed.

"Don't worry Roman, you'll be able to pull him away soon." Patton said with a reassuring smile.

Roman was soon pulled into a conversation as well, this time with a guard captain who wanted to talk to Roman about if he wanted to join their ranks and such, leaving Patton alone to watch him.

And he stayed watching him, snacking on small scones and chocolates that were being carried around by servants, until Virgil was eventually able to catch a break, his face flushed, his feet sore and a little out of breath.

"I see you've finally made it away." Patton said with a bright smile.

"It appears I have," Virgil said, "where are the other two?" He asked.

"They were pulled away a while ago, Logan with some scholar or professor and Roman with the captain of the guard." Patton said as he offered Virgil his cup of bubbly cider.

Virgil took a sip of it and thanked him before handing it back.

"Gosh my feet hurt," he said. "I wish they had places to sit down around here where you wouldn't be flocked by nobles." He added.

"I'm sure we can find a nice place to hide away where you can rest for a bit," Patton said with a small laugh.

He gently took Virgil's hand and lead him towards one of the doors that lead out of the ballroom.

"Are we allowed to leave the room?" Virgil asked, a little nervously as he looked around and bit his lip.

"I saw some other people go out these doors, so I'm assuming it's okay." Patton said with a shrug as he lead him through the doors.

After a bit of exploring around the building they found what looked like a small quiet tea room. It had a small layer of dust over most stuff in the room, so they assumed no one would be coming inside while they were there.

"This'll do for now," Patton said with a smile as he lead Virgil over to the small armchair in the corner of the room, not bothering to sit at the uncomfortable seats at the table.

Patton sat down in the chair before gently pulling Virgil into his lap.

"I can go sit in one of the other chairs you know." Virgil said with a shy blush.

"I know," Patton said as he snaked his arms around Virgil's waist. "But I want to hold you, so if it's alright with you I'd like you to stay here." He said as he pressed his face into the crook of Virgil's neck, where it turned into his shoulder.

"I'll stay here then." Virgil said as he relaxed back against Patton and closed his eyes, curling up a bit in his lap.

Patton cooed softly and shifted Virgil so that he was facing Patton so that Virgil could lay on his chest, his hands now rubbing up and down Virgil's back in a soothing manner.

They sat like that for a while, just relaxing and taking a moment to breath for a bit.

Patton eventually began to press feather light kisses to Virgil's neck, his lips barely grazing the soft porcelain skin with each kiss.

The kisses slowly grew bigger and not as light, and Patton lifted his hand so that he could pull away the collar of Virgil's shirt.

Virgil hummed softly. "Pat..." he mumbled softly.

Patton smiled against his neck and began to suck at a soft and tender spot on his collarbone that could be easily covered up, smirking slightly as Virgil squirmed the tiniest bit and hummed again.

He gently nipped at the soft skin, ignoring Virgil's soft gasp at the quick but sharp pinch as he moved on to another spot on Virgil's collarbone to give it the same treatment as the last spot.

"W-what if someone comes inside?" Virgil asked as he wrapped his arms around Patton's neck.

"No one will," Patton assured him. "And if someone does we'll just hope they leave pretty quickly." He added, before going back to suckling at his neck again.

Virgil moaned softly and let his head fall back as he closed his eyes again, exposing more of his pale, flower petal-soft skin for Patton.

"D-don't go too crazy.." he added as he reached one hand up, tangling his fingers in Patton's hair on the back of his head. "I still need to be able to cover them up." He said.

"I know," Patton said. "Don't worry, just relax." He said softly.

Virgil hummed softly and nodded as he let Patton continue to kiss and mark his neck and collarbone with blossoms of pink and red, tiny huffs and hums escaping him along with the occasional moan.

They eventually stopped and just sat there, cuddled together on the chair as they relaxed.

"We should probably head back soon," Virgil said.

"Probably." Patton said as he leaned forwards and pressed a final kiss to Virgil's cheek.

Virgil sat up and began to carefully straighten out his clothes and cover the garden of pink and red blossoms Patton had made on his collarbone, shoulder and chest.

"I bet your parents are here by now," Patton said as the two made their way out of the room and back towards the ballroom. "I actually think they arrived while you were still dancing." He added.

"If they are they're probably wondering where I am." Virgil said as they walked.

"True," Patton said.

They walked back into the ballroom, and spotted a slightly flushed Roman walking with Logan, his lips looking a bit redder and even a little swollen. Both Patton and Virgil could guess why.

Apparently they'd been spotted as well, but not by Logan and Roman.

"Ah, Virgil, there you are." His mother said as she and her husband walked over to Virgil and Patton.

"We couldn't find you for a while, but we've found you now so everything is fine." She said.

"We have a few people we want to introduce you to, if you don't mind us pulling you away from your friends that is." His father said with a smile as he glanced between Virgil and Patton.

"No I don't mind," Virgil said. "I'll meet up with you and the others later, okay?" Virgil said as he turned to Patton.

"Of course," Patton said with a bright smile. "You'll find us around." He added, before waving goodbye and walking over towards where he'd last seen Logan and Roman.

Virgil followed his parents as they lead him over to talk to several other important people that Virgil immediately forgot the names of after being introduced.

This went on for almost half an hour, before Virgil was pulled away to go dance with a couple more noble women, only two of them being in his age group.

Unbeknownst to him, Roman was still watching on the sidelines, a jealous pout on his face as he watched Virgil dance around.

Logan was also watching with Roman, Patton having been drawn to the table laid out with various sweets and drinks.

Virgil was eventually released from his dancing, but soon found himself swept away and out of the room by two out of three of his secret boyfriends.

He went along with them, not really caring where Roman brought them, simply being eager for a break from socializing.

Roman quickly pulled Virgil and Logan into a room not to far away from the ballroom, you could still here the chattering of guests and the music through the walls.

"I'm going to show you how it feels to actually dance with a good partner." Roman said as he placed a hand on Virgil's hip and held his hand in the other.

"Aw, was someone jealous?" Virgil asked with a teasing smirk as he wrapped his free arm and hand around Romans neck and gently squeezed his hand with the other.

""I wouldn't say jealous..." Roman trailed off with a small blush as he glanced away.

"Oh my gosh you were," Virgil said with a grin as he leaned in closer to Roman. "Has he been like this all night?" Virgil asked as he looked over at Logan, who was leaning against the door.

He stood up and walked so he stood behind Roman as he spoke.

"Ever since he realized he wouldn't be able to dance with you." Logan said. "Or me and Patton for that matter, claiming that he could sweep you off your feet ten times better than any of the people you were dancing with could." He said as he slowly and gently trailed his hands up and down Romans sides.

"What a bold claim Princey, Virgil said, "I danced with some pretty skilled dancers out there," he said.

"But, if you feel like you can do better then you'll need to show me." He added with a grin.

"Gladly," Roman said, before carefully listening to the music from the other room, the song had just begun.

Roman began to slowly move, gently swaying the two of them in time with the song, spinning in a slow circle as they did, his hand gently massaging at Virgil's hip.

Logan had taken a step back from Roman to watch them dance, a pleased smile on his face as he leaned back against the door.

Roman and Virgil danced in time with the slow music of the song, spinning, dipping, and swaying in sync with one another when the music called for it.

Virgil soon decided that they'd danced enough and quickly took the lead, spinning them out of time with the song and pressing Roman up against the wall of the room, much to his surprise.

"You're just too much," Virgil said softly with a small laugh and a smile as he braced his forearms on either side of Romans head.

"can I kiss you?" He asked as he leaned forward, eagerly hoping he'd say yes.

"Of course love, whenever you want." Roman said with a blush.

*kinda steamy time*

"Might I join in as well?" Logan asked as he stepped forwards. "I did have my fun with Roman earlier, but I would enjoy hearing his voice making those sounds again." He said, making Romans blush darken as he nodded and Virgil said yes.

Logan stepped forwards, next to Virgil, and leaned forwards to press a kiss to the side of Romans neck. Virgil doing the same on the other side.

His vest and shirt were quickly half unbuttoned to allow the two of them to kiss and suckle at his collar bone and his chest at the same time, leaving a trail of cherry red hickies as the two of them suckled and nipped at spots that could be easily covered.

Romans breath hitched slightly as Virgil's lips brushed against one of his nipples, and Virgil subconsciously stored that little bit of info for later.

Logan soon realized the sensitivity Roman had in that spot as well and began to press gentle kisses and small licks to the perked nub, which prompted Virgil to do the same on the other side as Roman began to squirm against the wall and moan a bit louder.

"T-this is a-a little much for a r-regular make-out session," Roman moaned as he tried to squirm away from their mouths, only to have them each somehow manage to suck on their respective nipple at the same time as retaliation to him trying to pull away, making Roman gasp and moan at a slightly higher pitch than before, panting a bit heavier as his chest twitching both forwards and back, his body not knowing what to do in response to the pleasure.

The two of them suckled and nipped at his nipples for a bit longer, drawing out sweet moans as Roman writhed, before gently pulling away, watching as Roman sagged slightly against the wall and panted heavily.

*end of kinda steamy time*

"We've been gone for a while," Roman said softly as he leaned his head back, eyes closed as he panted. "We should probably head back to the party." He said.

"We can when we've managed to make you look a bit more presentable," Logan said as he placed a kiss to Romans cheek before beginning to re-button his shirt and vest, smoothing out the wrinkles as they covered the cherry red marks that littered the skin of Romans neck, chest and shoulders.

After they were all straightened out the three left the room and made their way back to the ballroom, where they met up with Patton, who had been asked to dance by a young lady while they'd been gone.

They began to meander around the ballroom, drifting from place to place and pausing to loiter and look out the windows and look out of the windows at the dark sky, the sunset already having happened.

They did sneak in a couple more kisses throughout the ball, their most risky one being behind a curtain near an unpopulated balcony, but very close to a gaggle of guests, which was closely followed by Logan kissing Virgil and pressing the princes back against the railing of a said balcony, still thankfully unseen by the gaggle. They'd almost got caught each of those times, but fortunately weren't in the end.

The weren't going to be at the ball for much longer, an hour at most, but Virgil's father had mentioned sending him and his friends a bit earlier than him and his mother, knowing they’d be tired.

Which is what ended up happening, a carriage arriving for the four of them only half an hour later.

It was roughly 10pm at this point, and they were all basically dead on their feet as they exited the ballroom.

They dragged themselves into the carriage, and immediately curled around each other when the door was closed and locked, with Roman leaning against Patton and Virgil curled up halfway in Logan’s lap.

They didn’t talk that much on their way back, mostly just sitting in comfortable silence as they dozed off a bit, although Patton and Roman began to hum a sweet little tune as they rode on.

When they got back home they were each escorted to their rooms, much to their displeasure, since all they really wanted to do was cuddle and go to bed with maybe a few more kisses.

Virgil, already inside his room at this point, began to undress, putting everything away before slipping on his softest and most comfortable pair of pants and shirt before turning all the lights off and crawling into bed, burying himself under the thick fluffy blankets and wrapping his arms around an extra pillow, burying his face into it as he held it to his chest and curled around it a little bit.

He began to doze off, slowly drifting into the land of sleep, while snuggling closer to his pillow-made-cuddle-buddy.

And while it was a little bit disappointing to not get to cuddle with at least one of his boyfriends, he did enjoy the memories from the day, and thought about them as he fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the rushed ending, I just really wanted to a get a chapter out and such, but I hope you liked it anyways.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: flashback- what actually happened when they were "out getting firewood"
> 
> Are you ready for more kissing? not super steamy and all, but it's gunna happen, more so on the cute and sweet side.  
I did lay down hints of this when I wrote about that in the chapter.   
The next chapter shouldn't have kissing in the prompt. If my list is right at least. So there’s that.
> 
> This is also going to be on the shorter side.

Roman and Logan made their way through the woods away from the fire, in a slightly awkward silence.

"That was... informative." Logan said after a few minutes of silence.

"We're not letting him go back, right?" Roman said, not really acknowledging Logan's statement as he turned to look at him. "I mean, this is the first time he's been outside, do you realize how messed up that is? He's been locked away like some kind of -some kind of-of- exotic bird or something!" He said angrily. "So what if he has magic hair, no body would ever know if he just never did his little rhyme-ditty-thing, what with his hair black and not horribly long in an unusual way?" He continued. "What kind of sick greedy parent does that! If his father's been keeping him inside cause he's just that greedy than he's a freaking bastar-" Roman was cut of by a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Roman, breath for a second." Logan said softly as the two of them stopped walking. "I know it's... less than desirable, and I know that it's remotely alright, but think about it from Virgil's point of view," he began, "he's never been outside, everything is different and most likely terrifying in some cases,"

"But we could show him there's nothing to be afraid of!" Roman interrupted him, "we could help him!"

"And I want to, believe me I do, but we are basically strangers, maybe acquaintances, to him, he has no reason to trust or believe us, and if we tried to prevent him from going home he'd most likely panic and run right back to his father or somewhere else and end up getting hurt." Logan said as he gently cupped Romans chin, trying to think of what Patton would do."the best we can do for now is...is show him that yes there is nothing to be afraid of like you said, but we can't force him to stay out here. That tower is the only home he's ever known and we can't do that to him, no matter how wrong it is." Logan said.

Roman glared at nothing, a few tears pricking at the corners of his eyes as he let out an aggravated huff and crossed his arms.

"That's stupid." He huffed. "Really really fuc-" a soft mutter of language from Logan made him pout, "-freaking stupid." He said as he gently wrapped his arms around Logan's waist, leaning his face into the palm of Logan's hand at the same time.

"I know," Logan said, "but maybe we can convince him to not go home by showing him how much better the outside world is." He said. "I'm sure you and Patton would be really good at that."

"So would you Specs, with that smart brain of yours and all, you'd probably be able to explain everything to him." Roman said, before tilting his head to look up at him.

Logan blushed a little and smiled softly before gently moving his hand away and taking a step back, Romans arms slipping away from his waist as he did.

"I suggest that we go and actually find some firewood now." Logan said.

"You're probably right," Roman said, "there's not that much around here though." He said.

"Let's go a bit deeper in then? We should be able to find some eventually." Logan said.

The two of them went a bit deeper into the forest, holding hands now, each with faint blushed on their cheeks as they walked and gathered, each of them soon having some variously sized sticks bundled in their arms.

"Oh would you look at that," Logan said softly.

"What?" Roman asked, curious as he looked at him.

"There are some lightning bugs," Logan said as he set the wood he was holding down and pointed them out to Roman, who smiled. 

Roman also put his wood down and stepped forward, towards the little glowing beetles.“It’s just like the last time you Patton and I went exploring the woods between heists,” he said. “And one landed on his nose.”

“I do recall,” Logan said with a fond smile.

“He looked so cute when he went cross eyed and the glow from the beetle lit up His face and eyes.” Roman said as he turned around to look at Logan.

“Do you remember what else happened that night?” He asked softly as he took a few steps forwards and gently wrapped his arms around Logan’s waist, like he’d done earlier.

“I’m not certain if I do,” Logan said teasingly as he gently draped his arms around Romans shoulders, “might you remind me?”

“Certainly,” Roman said, before gently pressing Logan up against a nearby tree and kissing him softly.

Logan smiled and gently kissed him back, closing his eyes as he felt his face heat up and undoubtedly turn cherry red.

Roman pulled away after a few seconds, only to kiss him again after letting them both breath, capturing his lips in another sweet kiss.

They were so focused on each other and their kissing that the two of them didn’t hear the sound of footsteps approaching, or notice when someone else leaned against a tree near them.

“Awe, you guys are so cute,” Parton said with a bright grin from where he watched them, giggling as the two jerked apart in surprise, their soft blushes turning plum red from embarrassment.

“Patton!” Roman said in surprise. “What are you doing here?” He asked.

“I had come to check on you both since you were taking a while,” he said as he took a few steps towards them. “But I can see why now,” he said with a small laugh.

A small lightning bug flew over and landed on the top of Romans head, making Patton smile at him.

“Mind if I steal a kiss or two as well?” He asked as he reached up and carefully removed the bug, cupping it in his hands gently.

“Not at all,” Roman said softly.

Patton smiled and watched the beetle fly away before gently cupping Romans cheeks in his hands instead.

He pressed a kiss to Romans forehead before moving down and pressing his lips to Romans, humming softly.

The two kissed sweetly for a few seconds before pulling away, Patton gently rubbing Romans cheek bones.

“Now it’s your turn,” Patton said as he turned to Logan, “if it’s alright that is.” He added.

Logan, still standing at the tree Roman had pressed him against earlier, nodded, “I will gladly except a few kisses from you.” He said softly.

Patton smiled brightly at him and slowly pulled away from Roman, pressing another kiss to his forehead before walking the two steps over to Logan, gently pressing him against the tree like Roman zhad.

He captured Logan’s lips in a sweet kiss after a second or so, listening to Logan hum as they both closed their eyes.

Patton could feel Logan relax, and couldn’t help smiling into the kiss before pulling away slowly.

“We should probably head back to An-Virgil soon,” Patton said. “After actually gathering some firewood that is.”

“I mean, we did technically gather some,” Roman said, gesturing to the two small piles of dry sticks they’d gathered, “but we got a little distracted.” He admitted with a blush.

Patton laughed a little and smiled, “I can tell,” he said as he pulled away from Logan. “This’ll probably be fine for tonight, so let’s just head back for now, I don’t want to leave him alone for much longer.” He said.

“That’s a good plan, we don’t want anything to happen while we’re gone.” Roman said as he and Logan both gathered up the sticks again.

“I doubt anything super bad could happen to him while we’re gone.” Patton said. “But I’d rather be safe than sorry.” He said as the trio began to make their way back.

“Agreed.” Logan said as they walked.

“I hope he’s not scared of anything, he seemed nervous when I left.” Patton said.

“He’s probably fine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shortest chapter ever. But tada, here you go.


	28. part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Virgil apparently has a few suitors eager to meet him and try to earn his affections, and he has an obligation to spend a day with each them and give them a chance (despite the fact that he has three secret boyfriends)..
> 
> This'll be fun.  
This is going to be a decently long fic, hope yalls are ready.  
this is just part one of this prompt, part two will be out soon, which will be a detailed chapter on what he does in the kingdom of Daaron, and then part three will be for the kingdom of Palemoore, and part four will be a combination of the kingdom of Villion and him coming home.

Virgil walked into the throne room, looking up at his parents where they sat.

"You wanted to see me?" He asked as he walked towards them.

"Ah Virgil," His father said with a bright smile as he stood up. "Your mother and I would like to discuss a few things with you." He said as he glanced over at his wife, who was holding a small stack of envelopes.

"Alright," Virgil said, "What is it you'd like to talk about?" He asked.

"Well you see," His mother said, "we've gotten a few letters recently from a few of the surrounding kingdoms, three to be exact, and all of them are from suitors who wish to, in a way, 'woo' you." She said as she held the letters out to him.

"Suitors?" Virgil asked as he took the letters and looked at them, staring at the large elegant writing on them.

"Yes, suitors," His mother said, "people who wish to, in the future, marry you." She said.

"Marry?! But I-I'm just eighteen, isn't that a little-"

"You wouldn't be marrying them any time soon," His mother interrupted as she held up a hand.

"And you won't need to technically marry any of them if you don't like them," His father added. "But you are required to spend some amount of time with each of them in their respective kingdoms, to be both polite and give them a chance." He said.

"We'll let you go to your room and think it over," His mother said. "But please do try and enjoy yourself when they come, which will be in a weeks time, you never know when you'll get the chance to do this again." She said.

Virgil stared down at the letters dumbly before swallowing and nodded.

"A-Alright," He said as he looked back up at them, "I uh, I-I'll go to my room now, I guess, um, bye." He stuttered, before quickly rushing out of the room, clutching the three letters in clammy hands.

-

"They want you to what?" Roman asked as he watched a panicking Virgil pace back and forth across the room.

"They want me to meet up with some -some suitors! People I don't know who for some reason want to marry me." Virgil said as he continued to pace, throwing a glance at the three letters sitting innocently on his desk across the room.

"Can't you just tell your parents your not comfortable with that?" Patton asked.

"They said I'd have to at least give them a chance to be polite, even if I'm not interested." He said with a sigh, before turning and flopping onto the bed next to where the other three had been siting.

"Then just go out with them for a cup of tea or something, let them down nicely, and go about your day." Roman said, "why are you so worked up about this? It's not like you're definitely going to need to marry them." He asked with a concerned frown.

Virgil groaned and rolled over so that his face was buried in the sheets.

"I believe I might know the problem," Logan said as he gently reached forwards and placed a hand on Virgil's back.

"Virgil, you doing this does not make you unfaithful." Logan said softly.

"Unfaithful?" Roman asked.

"Him doing this doesn't mean he's cheating on us." Logan clarified.

"Oh no no no, you're not cheating on us," Patton said as he quickly rolled Virgil over as pulled him into a hug. "Yes we'd rather you not have people try and woo you, but we know that you know you're already taken, so we have nothing to worry about." He said.

"But...but what if I actually have fun?" Virgil asked.

"Then you can politely decline their affections and offer a friendship-like relationship instead, it's okay to have fun while your doing this, just don't lead them on." Logan said as he took hold of Virgil's hand and squeezed it gently.

He bit his lip before reluctantly nodding.

"Still, even if I didn't have you guys I'd be upset. I don't even know these people." He said.

"You might find out a little bit about hem if you actually looked at their letters." Roman said as he placed a kiss on Virgil's cheek.

Virgil sighed before reluctantly getting up and walking over to his desk, picking up the letter.

He went back over to the bed and curled up in Logan's lap, smiling a little bit when Logan wrapped his arms around him, and carefully tore one of the letters open.

Dear Prince Virgil of the Kingdom of Corona,

I hope this letter find you in good health and good spirits, for I am not certain when it will arrive.  
I have but only glanced upon you during the ball quite some time ago, all to nervous to ask you to dance with me.  
But you're beauty and charm have entrapped me in a cage that I can't break out of, and I yearn to see you again.  
I look forward to our meeting in one weeks time from your approval, and hope I will entrap your mind the same way you have entrapped mine own.

All the best wishes to you and your family, Princess Veronica of the Kingdom of Daaron.

"She signed it with a lipstick kiss as well," Virgil said, a small embarrassed blush tinting his cheeks light cherry blossom pink.

"So she saw you at the dance and got a crush," Roman said, "And was apparently to shy to ask you to dance but not to shy to basically ask you to marry her." He added.

"Well, at least she doesn't sound too bad?" Virgil said.

"I don't like the 'entrap you mind the same way you have entrapped mine own' business, sounds kinda obsessed-like." Roman said.

"Maybe She was trying and failing to be romantic?" Virgil said with a weak shrug.

"Maybe." Roman said.

Virgil opened the next letter.

Dear prince Virgil,

Why hello, I hope you have been having a lovely summer since we last seen each other, what was it? Four, five weeks ago? I can't recall the exact date.  
I'm not sure if you'll remember me but I was one of the young ladies you had danced with at the ball, I had been wearing a simple sapphire blue gown, and had my dark brown hair up in a bun if that helps to spark your memory of me.  
Anyways, I was hoping to be able to take up at least a few hours of your time in the near future in hopes that you might possibly become attracted to me as well, a weeks time after you've accepted my request. If our putting does not result in romance I will be more than willing to extend the hand of friendship between us and our kingdoms instead.

All the best wishes, Princess Evelyn of Palemoore.

"She seems nice," Patton said as he peaked over Virgil's shoulder to look at the letter while he had listened to Virgil read it.

"She also isn't dead set on romance, so you have nothing to worry about with her." Roman said.

"A friendship with her could also be a good thing to the kingdom in general, Palemoore is a costal kingdom in the south, it would be beneficial to gain their hand in friendship and start a trading route between them and us, seeing as we both have resources the other does not." Logan said as he rested his chin on the top of Virgil's head.

"That could be another reason why princess Veronica would want to marry you despite her supposed attraction to you," Roman said. "I'm pretty sure Daaron is a mountainous kingdom, and I don't know how many good resources they have access to up there."

"Why would they make a kingdom in a place with low resources?" Patton asked.

"The Daaron mountains are full of large stocky mountain goats, they are a good source of meat, their horns and bones can be used as excellent weapons, and their pelts are extremely thick and soft and sell for a high price." Logan explained, "the animals are also plentiful and reproduce at a fast rate, so it is semi beneficial to live in a place where they live so that they may profit from the animals," he continued, "but due to their choice in living that lack resources like fishing grounds, lush plant life, or other forms of hunt aside from large eagles, but those are mostly for show and for sport than they are for actually eating."

Patton pouted. "They shouldn't kill things as a game." He said, snuggling up to Romans side.

"I agree." Virgil said as he opened the next letter.

Dear Virgil of Corona,

I hope that you do not take this letter in any form offense, seeing as I do not know your preferences and mine are not common amongst royalty.  
I understand if you do not wish to even entertain the thought of me as a suitor, and I understand if you are unwilling to even give me a chance,  
But I saw you the night of the ball, and I saw you another time whilst my family was visiting yours, although I never spoke to you on either occasion, I've only heard about you through rumors and gossip and I don't know how true those rumors are, so I'd like to put them to rest and get to know you myself, if you'll take the time out of your day for me.  
I hope that you will consider my offer, and I take no offense if you do not.

Sincerely, Prince Aaron of Villion.

"A male suitor? How interesting," Logan said.

"Well I'm this case he might be the only who stood a chance if you didn't have us," Roman said as he pressed a kiss to Virgil's cheek, smiling when Virgil smiled.

"That's true," Virgil said, "and he seems pretty nice and accepting of the fact that I may have been uncomfortable with it." He said.

"I'm betting he's gunna become your friend." Patton said.

"So they all saw virgil at the ball awhile ago and immediately fell head over heels for him," Roman said, "is that a coincidence or just dumb luck?"

"I'd say a coincidence." Logan said.

"Can we really blame them for falling for you though?" Patton cooed as he shifted over to Virgil and cupped his face in his hands, "you are quite irresistible." He added as he gently rubbed Virgil's cheekbones, laughing softly as Virgil's face went a bright cherry red from embarrassment.

"You're embarrassing," he said as he playfully pushed Patton away.

"it's true though." Roman said as he smiled at him.

"I hate you both, Logan is my favorite now." Virgil said as he snuggled closer to Logan.

The other two watched as Logan whispered something in Virgil's ear that made his blush darkened from a cherry to a plum.

"Okay I officially hate you all, and I'm going to go write the letters back to them now accepting their offers," he said as he got out of Logan's lap and off of the bed, "who knows, maybe prince Aaron will manage to woo me and snatch me up, if I'm so irresistible." He said.

Roman reached forwards and wrapped his arms around Virgil's waist, pulling him back onto the bed and holding him tightly.

"He'll have to steal you away from us first," he said, "as irresistible as you may be, you are currently taken and I simply can't allow him to steal you away." He said.

"Unless you willingly go with him." He added softly.

"Oh hush Roman, you know I was joking, even if I do end up liking this guy it'll only be as friends," Virgil said, "you know I have everything I need right here." He added shyly.

"Oh my gosh you're too sweet." Patton said as he pulled both Virgil and Roman into a hug, quickly dragging Logan in as well.

They cuddle for a bit after that before Virgil actually did end up having to write back to the three suitors, explaining how flattered he was and that although he was not in search of a partner at the current time, he would love to meet with them.

He got a positive response from all three of them, stating that they happily awaited his arrival whenever it was most convenient for him.

He was scheduled to meet up with the princess from Daaron on Wednesday of the next week, the princess from Palemoore on Friday of that same week week, and with the prince from villion on that Saturday. He was to go to their respective kingdoms for the day and spend the night, which didn’t help at all with his anxiety.

Logan helped Virgil read up on the kingdoms so he would have something to talk about with them, while Patton and Roman excitedly help him plan out an outfit for each day.

"You'll want to look presentable and classy but not snobbish," Roman said as he rifled through Virgil's wardrobe. “It’s also very cold up in the mountains so we’ll need to pack you a cloak, and the Palemoore is by the coast so maybe something more beach appropriate? And then Villion is in the forest, so normal clothes should suffice.” He said s he continued to rummage around.

Virgil still felt a little awkward since his boyfriends where helping to get him ready to meet up with three different people who wanted to marry. But the other three reassured him on multiple occasions that it was fine and that they trusted him.

It was soon Tuesday evening, and Virgil was anxious. He was set to leave in an less than an hour, and would arrive in the mountains early the next morning.

He paced back and forth across the floor of his room, rubbing his face as he rambled.  
"What if I say something wrong and She gets offended, or if I let it slip that I'm already taken, or if I end up accidentally leading her on, or if I-" Virgil was cut off by a gentle hand on his shoulder.

He turned to look and was quickly pulled into a hug by Roman, who hummed softly and gently rubbed his back.

"We know you're worried, but just be yourself," Roman said softly, “and if anything happens at all we can postpone the other meetings and just bring you home."

"I know but I still feel weird about this." Virgil said.

"How about you tell her before hand that this is only platonic?" Roman suggested.

"Sure I guess." Virgil said with a shrug.

"Hey," Roman said softly as he gently cupped Virgil's cheek and tilted his head up to look at him, "the three of us will be here waiting for you when you get back." He said. "No matter what happens you'll still have us, ready and willing to shower you in affection when you get back." He said as he pressed a kiss to Virgil's forehead and to his cheek.

Virgil blushed and laughed.  
"I really don't deserve you guys." He said softly, leaning into the hand Roman still had cupping his cheek, closing his eyes as he did.

"Hey hey hey, we're not starting that up again." Roman said, "you do deserve us, and there's no reason you ever wouldn't." He said.

"Now go get changed before I tell Patton you were thinking bad about yourself." He said with a small laugh. "I'll meet you down stairs with the others." He added as he pressed a final kiss to Virgil's forehead before letting him go.

Virgil nodded and smiled at him as Roman pulled away.

"I'll be down in a few minutes." He said with a smile.

Roman nodded a blew him a kiss as he left the room, quietly closing the door behind him.

Virgil sighed softly and went about getting dressed, pulling the outfit Roman and Patton had picked out for him out of his wardrobe.

It was a dark violet vest with golden buttons, a air of black pants, a white button up with frilly sleeves, a pair of shiny black shoes with golden clasps, and a frilly but nice white tie that was held together by a pin with a dark purple gem.

He knew Roman had packed a large dark purple almost black cloak into the carriage he was taking, so he didn’t need to worry about freezing.

He carefully undressed and pulled the outfit on before messing with his hair a bit in the mirror, biting his lip nervously.

He then walked down stairs to where the others were waiting for him, waiting to bid him farewell.

Patton rushed up and gave him a large hug, which in other circumstances would have involved some amount of kisses, but since they weren’t alone in the room they just settle for a plain hug.

“We’ll be waiting for when you come back in four days,” he said as he let Virgil go, “you’ll need to tell us everything!” He added with an excited smile.

Virgil couldn’t help smiling back, “I’ll try to remember as much as I can then.” He said, before walking over to his parents.

“This is a very important virgil,” His mother began, “you will be unintentionally representing corona in these visits, please be on your best behavior while you are away.”

“And remember to have fun.” His father added with a smile.

Virgil filed slightly and nodded, “Okay.” He said with a small smile.

His parents pulled him into a quick hug before letting him go and gesturing for him to go outside.

“You should head out about now if you want to get there by morning,” His mother said, “we’ll see you in a few days.”

“Goodbye.” He said with a smile, before turning and saying goodbye to Roman, Logan and Patton as well, hugging them each before leaving and getting into the carriage.

He settle down, knowing he had a long ride ahead of him, curling up in the seat with the blanket and pillow that had been packed.

He hoped he didn’t mess anything up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, again this is just part one of this prompt, part two will be out soon, which will be a detailed chapter on what he does in the kingdom of Daaron, and then part three will be for the kingdom of Palemoore, and part four will be a combination of the kingdom of Villion and him coming home.


	29. Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part two: Virgil's time in the kingdom of Daaron with princess Veronica

Virgil was buried underneath his blanket, snuggled up with his pillow that was tightly clutched to his chest.

He was soon woken up to a gentle knocking on the front wall of the carriage where the coachman rode.

"Your highness, we will be arriving at the castle in just a few minutes, please get yourself ready for when we arrive." A voice called through.

"Alright, thank you Charles." Virgil called back to him as he stretched and yawned while he sitting up.

The blanket fell down into his lap and he shivered, it was much colder up in the mountains than he'd expected. He was very thankful Roman had insisted he bring a cloak along with him.

He went about straightening his clothes and hair, still yawning softly as he did, doing his best to make himself look awake and presentable.

He folded up his blanket and set his pillow on top of it in the corner of the carriage, ready for when he needed them next.

He felt the carriage pull to a stop after a few minutes, and took a deep calming breath.

The door to the carriage was opened and he carefully stepped out, pulling his cloak around him as the freezing morning air nipped at his skin.

Doraan was a durability over looks kind of kingdom, with strong stone houses and walls and streets, with only a few hardy shrubs decorating the roadside in the sense of plant life.  
It had plenty of decorations though, mostly in rich reds and colds or warm brows and such in contrast with the grey stones.

Virgil didn't know what he'd been expecting, but he was surprised it was so...cozy? Not quite the right word, but it was the best he could come up with. Everyone he saw was bundled up in thick clothing, and there were even a few dogs. Actually, there were quite a few dogs, and they all looked to be similar in breed.

They were extremely large dogs, with brown and black coats of long thick fur. Logan had show him a book on dogs at one point.... where they Saint Bernards? They kinda looked like them, but a bit bigger... maybe he could ask someone about it later on. He'd have to remember to tell Patton about them, he'd probably love to hear about the giant dogs.

Virgil was lead to the castle by the group of guards from Corona accompanying him, reminding him again as to why he's even here.

The doors were opened for him, revealing the king and queen and their daughter standing there, apparently having been waiting for him for who knows how long.

"Ah, prince Virgil, the man who has managed to capture my daughter's heart without even trying." The king said with a broad smile.

He was a large bear of a man, standing a head taller than Virgil with a thick beard of burnt orange hair. He wore dark red robes with gold and white accents and decorative furs, the clothing looking very thick and insulated.

"You're majesty," Virgil said with a bow, gaining a booming laugh from the man.

"Come now, we are both royalty here, no need for mannerisms," he said as he beckoned Virgil inside, "come, let us leave the cold and allow me to introduce my family." He said, leading Virgil, his family, and both of their kingdoms guards into the castle, the doors closing behind them.

The king lead them to what resembled a tea room, but had thick pelts on the chairs and in front of a roaring fireplace, it felt more like a den really.

"Please, make yourself comfortable, breakfast will be here shortly." The king said, gesturing for Virgil to sit.

Virgil did, picking out a chair with a large black and brown pelt that felt softer than anything he'd ever touched. It was probably from on of the mountain goats Logan had told him about.

"We thank you for coming to humble our daughters request," The king said as he sat in a chair a little ways away from virgil, his wife sitting next to him while the princess sat a bit closer to Virgil.

"It is no problem at all, no thanks needed," Virgil said, "but I would still like to tell you in advance that although I am very flattered your daughter would pick someone like me, I am not looking for a partner at the current moment." He said, trying to keep his nervousness from showing as he tightly held his hands in his lap to keep them from fidgeting and forced his leg to not bounce.

The king glanced at his daughter for a second, before smiling at Virgil. "That is quiet alright, you are still young and aren't looking to settle down for a while, which is understandable," he said, "but please let my daughter try her best to gain your affections while you're staying here, maybe you'll fall for her, but it is okay if you do not." He said.

Virgil, although he wanted to say that that probably wouldn't happen, just nodded.

"Anyway, let me introduce you to my wife, Vanessa," he said as he gestured to the woman next to him. She had a long round face with sharp cheek bones and chin, her hair dark and cascading down her back like a waterfall of ink. She wore a blood red dress decorated with gold and thick furs just like her husbands.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, prince Virgil," she said with a nod, her accent much thicker than the kings was. She also looked far more serious than her husband, but not scary.

"The pleasure is all mine, your majesty." Virgil said, nodding back to her.

"And my daughter, Veronica." The king said, gesturing to her.

Veronica was very pretty, with sun kissed skin and long black hair to match her mother's but bright green eyes like her fathers. Her face was round with high cheekbones and long lashes, and even a dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose, and had the same serious look as her mother, but also not scary. She'd be an excellent model for a painting.  
She also wore a deep burgundy colored dress, decorated with black pelts that glistened in the fire light.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, my prince," She said, smiling at him. Her accent similar to her mother's but not as strong.

"It is a pleasure to meet you as well." Virgil said, politely retuning the smile.

"Come, breakfast is served," The king said with a wave of his hand as a few servants walked in.

Veronica looked a little disappointed, but nodded none the less, shifting in her seat as her food was served to her.

Virgil looked at the food laid before him. It looked like a thick porridge with tidbits of dried fruits mixed into it, along with a glass of warm white liquid and a size of what looked like jerky.  
There were also several platters of hearty rolls set out on the table, with marmalade's and jams set out as well.

He waited for the others to start eating before taking a bite himself. It actually tasted rather good, the porridge being very sweet and the dried fruits adding a bit of pleasant tartness to it. The warm white liquid, goat milk he assumed, was also rather good, a little sweet even, and he wondered if they had added sugar to it.

He took a strip of the jerky off of his plate and took a bite, and was surprise at how tender and sweet it was as well. He usually wasn't the biggest fan of jerky, but this was rather delicious.

"This meal tastes wonderful," he said after a sip of the warm milk.

"I am glad you like it," The king said with a smile, "that is goat milk with honey, and the jerky is also goat meat that was soaked in sugars and honeys before it was dried. The porridge is a from a grain that we grow in our own fields here, it's also what the bread is made out of." He said, gesturing for Virgil to try a some of the rolls. "The marmalade, jams, and dried fruits were traded with another kingdom." He added.

Virgil took a roll, inspecting the shiny golden brown surface of the bread before lathering a layer of what looked like blackberry jam on top before taking a bite.

The roll was thick but soft and buttery at the same time, and went quite well with the sweet jam.

"This is also very good," Virgil said, before taking another bite. 

"I am glad it is to your liking," The king said.

They continued on with the meal, chattering ever now and then about random things, like how the weather was in Corona right now, or if he had enjoyed the trip here, and such forth.

By the time they were done Virgil was contently full and felt warm inside, the coldness from that morning completely gone.

He would have been content to stay there and continue to chatter, but apparently that wasn't on the agenda.

"Allow Veronica to show you around the kingdom." The king said.

Virgil, feeling a bit more nervous now for some reason, nodded as he and Veronica were gestured to stand up.

Veronica smiled at him, and waved for him to follow her. "Come, I'll show you around." She said with a smile.

Virgil nodded, "Alright," He said, giving his own smile back to her.

He followed her out of the room, bowing goodbye to the king and queen first though.

Veronica lead him down the hallway, two of her guards and two of Virgil's guards following behind them as they walked.

"I do hope you begin to have feelings during your stay here." She said as they walked, eventually making their way outside.

"I am sorry, but I'm really not looking for a partner at the current moment," Virgil said, feeling awful do lying to her, even though he didn't want to be with her.

"Then I will patiently wait until you are, and if you're ever snatched up by someone else then I will accept it." She said.

"Thank you for understanding," Virgil said.

She lead Virgil down the streets, pointing out specific buildings or murals or statutes, and introducing him to people every now and then.

"This is the courtyard where the winter festival is held each year," She said as she lead him through a wide area in the middle of the market, "it would be wonderful if you were to attend at some point." She said as she smiled at him.

"Id be honored to attend." Virgil said with a kind smile.

She then continued to lead him through the town, the sun steadily rising in the sky as she showed him around. They eventually got lunch at some point, these large bread rolls stuffed with meat and delicious spices.

At one point Virgil told her about Remy, who had wanted to come along, but Virgil had told him it was probably better if he stayed home, since they didn’t know how the other kingdoms would react to him bringing a bird along.

They continued to wander as they chattered, having finished their meal a while ago.

"I am going to take you somewhere fun now," she said, leading him into a large building.

"What is it?" Virgil asked.

"You are not afraid of dogs, yes?" She asked as she lead him down a hallway.

"No I'm not...?"

"Good." Was all She said, before opening a door and leading him inside the room.

Inside was a room full for small dogs, all of them going from Virgil's shin to his knee in height. They were all fluffy and had brown or black coats, and were bouncing around room playfully.

"I don't know if you noticed, but throughout the kingdom there have been many dogs," Veronica began. "The breed is Leonberger, they grow up to be very very big dogs." She said.

"This is their nursery," She said as she gestured around the room, "they are great companions and protective of their owners, and very intimidating to strangers due to their large size." She said with a small laugh.

"It is not unusual for people getting married to adopt one as their 'first child' of sorts, or adopt one when when they have a child so that they bond well with the dog." She added. "Or they are given as gifts to love ones to show their love and express how they wish no harm to come to them."

"Would you like to play with them?" She asked, standing next to the gate that was containing the puppies.

"Um, sure," Virgil said with a smile.

She nodded, and quickly lead him through the gate.

The two were immediately swarmed by excited puppies, jumping up at them and running around as they yipped and yapped excitedly.

Veronica began to play with them, and a majority of them chased her as she raced to one of their toy crates, leaving a quietly laughing Virgil behind.

There were still a few puppies around Virgil's feet, but they were much more mellow than the other puppies.

He kneeled down and began to pet them, only to get a face full of slobber as one jumped up on Virgil and began to lick his face excitedly, but not as excited as the mass of puppies around Veronica.

One of them was on the smaller side though, a few inches shorter than the other puppies. It must have been the runt of the litter.

He soon found himself sitting down with three puppies, one of them the runt, crammed into his lap, watching as Veronica played different games with the puppies. He pet them as they watched, feeling their soft thick fur run between his fingers as he did.

"I see you have met Tulip, Lily and Sprout." Veronica said as she came back over.

"It appears as if I have." Virgil said with a smile.

"Tulip and Lily are Sprouts older litter mates, and are protective of him due to his smaller than average size." She said.

"That's sweet." Virgil said as he smiled down at the three puppies that were basically overflowing his lap.

"They will most likely need to be adopted as a trio or at least a pair, I do not think they would take kindly to being completely separated." She said.

Virgil nodded, and gently scratched Tulip and Sprout behind their ears, earning appreciative groans from the two as they relaxed more into his lap.

They eventually needed to leave, since the puppies were going to be needing dinner and a trip outside soon and they needed to get back to the castle.

Virgil let Veronica lead him back through the town to the castle, smiling.

"I had a good day with you Veronica," he said as they walked.

She seemed to hesitate."Good enough to accept my proposal as a suitor?" She asked.

Virgil's smile turned sad and a bit guilty.

"No, I'm sorry." He said.

"It is alright, you did already mention that you weren't looking for a partner." She said, although she did look a bit dejected.

"I'm sure you'll find someone much better than me who likes you and is wanting to marry you." He said as they continued walking.

"I might, someday." She said.

"I'm sure you will." He said.

They arrived back at the castle as the sun was going down, and were quickly lead to the dining room by a pair of servants, their guards still following behind them.

The king and queen were already there, and a few seconds after the two sat down servants began bringing food inside.

"How was your day exploring the kingdom?" The king asked.

"It was quite enjoyable," Virgil said, "your kingdom is beautiful and rich in culture," he smiled. "I also liked the dogs." He added.

"Ah, yes so you've met our Leonbergers." The king smiled, "they are very plentiful here, and are very fun and energetic." He said.

"And cuddly." Veronica added with a smile as they were served their food.

They continued with their meal, chattering as they ate. It was a thick stew with a creamy broth and chunks of potatoes, carrots, and tender meat. It was rich with spices and Virgil was pretty sure it had cheese in it as well, but he wasn't certain. There were also dinner rolls laid out again, along with a couple cheese platters and even a few bowls of olives, though Virgil didn't really like olives so he stayed away from them.

After dinner was done a desert of a rich pudding cake was brought out, with layers of a sweet spongy cake and pudding that tasted kinda eggy but in a good way. It was covered in some kind of syrup and topped with candied berries, and was actually rather delicious.

When they had finally finished the meal it was getting late and the king sent them off to bed since Virgil would be leaving early the next morning.

A servant lead Virgil and his guards to a guest room where Virgil could sleep for the night.

It was a decently sized room with a small fireplace tucked in the corner for heating, thick pelts were laid out on the cold stone floors and draped across the head board of the bed and the foot of the bed. The bed itself was large and covered in thick blankets with large pillows stacked at the top.

The room felt cozy and Virgil could practically feel himself relax the moment he stepped inside.

A set of pajamas was laid out on the bed for him to change into, which he was grateful for, seeing as he had managed to forget to bring his own despite his own anxious worrying and the help of his boyfriend's.

He quickly changed clothes, since it was still very cold, and set his own clothes in a neat pile on the floor next to the bed, his cloak hanging on a hook across the room.

He then crawled into the bed and buried himself in the blankets, humming softly as he was enveloped in their warmth. Everything was so soft and warm, the bed practically swallowing him whole as he sunk deeper into the soft mattress, wrapping his arms around a spare pillow as he curled up on his side and snuggled up to it. He couldn't help missing Roman, Logan and Patton at this point, seeing as it had become a regular thing for them to end up snuggled together at night in one of their rooms, usually Virgil's since he had a much more difficult time sneaking out and into their rooms then they did sneaking into his. Which might be a security problem they should look into, but he didn't really mind for now.

Sleep came quickly to him that night.

———

He woke up the next morning to a gentle knock on the door.

"Your highness," one of his guards said from outside the room, "your bag has been brought from the carriage so you may change clothes, breakfast will be served in half an hour."

Virgil groaned softly as he sat up, rubbing his eyes, “Alright, thank you.” He said, before slipping out of bed, shivering at the loss of warmth.

He was given his bag by one of his guards, and was then left to change.

He pulled out the outfit that Roman had instead he wear, saying that it would look nice on him and show the princess of Palemoore that even though he wasn’t interested romantically, he still appreciated her offer.

He began to get dressed, pulling on the pair of white pants, followed by a soft lavender button up and a white vest with gold buttons. He slipped back on his normal black shoes and repacked his already worn clothes into his bag, leaving the pajamas folded on the edge of his bed.

He slipped his cloak back on before slinging his bag over his shoulder and walking out, nodding to his guards and the servant who quickly lead him to where they would be eating breakfast.

The servant insisted on taking his bag to the carriage when they entered he dining room, despite Virgil saying he really didn’t mind, and quickly whisked the bag away and was out of the room before he could protest more.

“While it saddens me to see you go I must admit that I did enjoy your time here, and hope you come to visit again.” Veronica, who had been sitting in one of the chairs, said.

“I will most definitely come back for a visit,” Virgil said as he took a seat down across from her.

“I look forward to it.” She said with a kind smile. “My father and mother will be here soon, then we will start breakfast.” She added, gaining a nod from virgil.

They continued to chatter quietly while they waited, only stoping when the king and queen came in and breakfast was served.

“So, you are traveling to Palemoore next, correct?” The king asked as he took a bite of his food.

This morning it was these pancake-like pastries, though they were much puffier and sweet than normal pancakes were, almost an inch thick. They were coated with a layer of jam and drizzled with what looked like honey. They were delicious and very filling.  
There was also the warm milk again, and the option of eggs to eat as well, along with the same jerky as the day before, much to Virgil’s pleasure.

“I am,” Virgil said, “I will be arriving around noon and staying till tomorrow afternoon.” He said.

“I hope you enjoy yourself, and wish you a safe journey.” The king said.

“Thank you.” Virgil smiled, before taking a sip of his milk.

They continued to chatter throughout breakfast, until it was time for Virgil to leave.

The king lead them back out to where Virgil carriage was, and they continued their farewells, wishing him safe travels and promises to come visit him next time.

Virgil couldn’t help but sigh softly as he relaxed into his seat in the carriage as they began to ride away.

He had enjoyed his time here, but he did miss Corona, and his boyfriends along with it. He wondered if they were sleeping in their ow rooms or if they were camped out in his. 

The thought made him blush and smile, imagining them curled up on his bed. It was a sweet thought, but they probably weren’t if he was being honest.

He took of his cloak and pulled up the blanket he had used the other night on his trip Daaron, covering himself as he also grabbed the pillow. It was still early and he could probably catch maybe another hour of sleep before he was too awake to sleep.

He curled up in his seat, nuzzling the pillow as he began to doze off, thinking about Roman, Logan and Patton.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is part two! Parts three and four will be out soon, if four ends up being too long I might make it into five, who knows.


	30. Part 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 3: Virgil's time in the kingdom of Palemoore with princess Evelyn
> 
> You guys don't know how much I craved sea food after writing this. I live crab and clams and stuff and now I really want some. But it's the middle of the night and I caaant.
> 
> I also totally didn't study how to sail a boat for this fanfic and totally don't have that knowledge within me now.  
Nope, not me....
> 
> This chapter is going to be long because I explain how the boat works and the prepping of the boat and all the fun stuff, I hope you're ready cause oh heck it be long.

Virgil sat comfortably in his carriage, his blanket wrapped around him as he read a book. Sun streamed inside the carriage from outside through the window in the door, and he could here the cries of birds -seagulls most likely.

A guard had told him that they would arrive within the hour not long ago, so he still had some time to read his book as the rode on.

He'd managed to get another two hours of sleep before being unable to doze off again, and had just stayed wrapped up in the blanket after that, feeling to content to try and get out of it.

Virgil turned the page in his book, and smiled when he saw another note scribbled into the margin, linked by an arrow pointing to a particular phrase that we also underlined. The book belonged to Logan, who apparently had a habit of making notes of things he either disagreed with or found amusing in his books. It was adorable in Virgil's opinion, and he took the time to read each one when he found them.

He continued to read, managing to get in a few more chapters before the guards told him they'd be arriving at the castle in a few minutes.

If Virgil focused he could hear the crashing of waves now in addition to the cries of seagulls. He'd only ever been to the beach with Roman, Logan, and Patton, and wasn't sure how comfortable he'd be if the princess invited him to the beach, but he quickly brushed the thought away, deciding to let himself worry if that happened.

He quickly straightened out his clothes and ran his fingers through his hair as the carriage pulled to a stop, and hurriedly rolled up his blanket and stuffed it under the seat before standing up and exiting the carriage when the door was opened for him.

He looked around the kingdom, blinking a few times due to he brightness.

The roads and some of the buildings were made of pale white stones that shined in the sun, and some other buildings were painted white with dark trimming and designs. Blue and silver flags hung every where, and several buildings had stained glass windows that mostly depicted images of the ocean and the beaches, but there were a few that didn't.

Everything was pristine and beautiful and had some sort of theme to do with the ocean. Some houses had murals of fish and boats on the sides, wind chimes that looked like sea creatures hung from some roofs and balconies, some even made from seashells and drift wood, everything was blue, white, and grey themed, with a few pale greens and pale yellows here and there. Seagulls where soaring in the sky, and the air smelled fresh and salty, salty enough that he could practically taste it, and he could hear the sounds of a bustling market not to far away.

He was lead up to the castle doors, which were quickly opened to reveal the king waiting for them.

He was waiting a plain white button up with a dark blue coat with gold detailing over the top of it, the colors going well with his own dark brown hair.

"Ah, prince Virgil of Corona, it is good to see you, you've made it just in time for lunch." He said with a smile. "Come, my daughter is waiting for us in the dining room." He said.

He lead Virgil into the castle, explaining to him that his wife wouldn't be joining them for lunch that day because she had things to take care of down at the docks, but would join them for dinner later that evening.

They stepped into an elegant dining room, with pale while furniture and bright stain glass windows letting natural light into the room. The table was laid out with silver decorations and small ocean themed trinkets, while the rest of the room was draped comfortable with what looked like soft fabrics and murals of fish and the ocean.

Sitting at the table was a girl with dark red hair that cascaded down her back in dark twisting curls. She had semi-pale skin and a splash of freckles across her nose and right beneath her strikingly blue eyes, like the kings.

She sat in her seat -wearing a deep blue dress with white lacing and a corset styled front, with large billowy sleeves that were winched at the wrists- and looked up when the two of them entered, smiling kindly.

"Ah, you've arrived," she said with a smile, "Lunch will be brought in in a few moments." She said as she stood up and curtsied a little bit, "it is a pleasure to see you again," she added.

"The pleasure is all mine," Virgil said with a smile as he bowed in return.

The king told him to relax and take a seat, so he did, choosing the chair across from Evelyn.

"I trust your journey from Daaron to here went well," Evelyn asked as the food was quickly brought in.

"Yes, it was quite lovely for the most part," Virgil said, "I hope you weren't waiting to long for our arrival though." he added.

"Not long at all," she said, "we busied ourselves with double checking to make sure everything was perfect for you."

"You didn't need to go through all the trouble of that." Virgil said with a small blush and a sheepish smile.

"Nonsense, you're our guest and we want you to feel welcomed and wanted," the king said, "and let us know if the food isn't to your liking, we can arrange for something else if it is not."

Virgil nodded, before taking a bite of the food that was served to him.

It was a medium sized cut of some fish, it had soft pink buttery flesh that practically melted in your mouth, except for the skin, which was crisped up in a delicious way and well seasoned.  
There was also a side of a fresh salad and bread slices with a thick crust.

"The food is delicious," He said with a smile, "what kind of fish is it?" He asked.

"It's Atlantic salmon, roasted and seasoned with pepper, salt, lemon and honey," The king said with a smile, "and the salad was grown in our own very gardens here at the castle, and the freshly baked bread is from the most popular bakery in our kingdom." He said.

"It's all delicious," Virgil said as he took another bite, before taking a sip of what was apparently lemon water.

They continued to eat their meal as they chartered. Asking him how his trip went and how he had liked Daaron, and other small talk questions.

"How are you in the water?" Evelyn asked before taking a bite of bread.

Virgil blushed slightly, "I just barely know how to swim," he admitted, "floating is the best I can do to be honest."

Evelyn smiled, "well that takes swimming off of the agenda." She said with a laughed, "I hope you're up for a bit of sailing though." She said.

"I'm up for it," Virgil said with a smile. He was a bit nervous about the idea of sailing, but didn't want to disappoint her.

"Well you most definitely don't want to go sailing while wearing such a handsome outfit," she said, "you'll need to get changed into something much simpler."

"Which we can provide." She added.

Virgil nodded, "thank you for your generosity." He said, remembering what his mother had been telling him about thanking them multiple times.

They soon finished their meal and Virgil was sent to a guest room to change into a pair of shorts and a loose t-shirt, while the princess also changed into less formal clothes that were more appropriate for sailing.

After he'd changed he met the princess near the front doors, his guards trailing behind him.

The princess was now changed into a pair of shorts that cut off at her knees, just like Virgil's, a short sleeved shirt that wrapped around her and tied into a knot, and a pair of sandals like Virgil's . Her hair was also tied up into a large tight bun on top of her head now, with a few curls untucked though.

"Ready?" She asked with a bright confident smile.

"As I'll ever be," Virgil said as he nervously smiled back, fiddling with the hem of his shirt for a few seconds before forcing his hands to let go, remember how he'd been told that fidgeting wasn't something he should do.

The princesses grin widened a bit, and she quickly lead him outside, a single of Virgil's guards and one of Evelyn's following behind them.

"I'm sure you'll love it," Evelyn said as she laid him down the road. "It might be a bit wobbly at first since the water is a bit rough today, but once we get going it should be smooth sailing." She said.

Virgil nodded, still looking around curiously as they walked.

They soon reached the docks, but not without Evelyn pointing out several impressive things on their wall, like an giant library with beautiful stain glass windows, and the fisherman's market, full of some many different kinds of fish, some Virgil had never even seen before. Although, to be fair, Virgil hadn't seen very many types of fish to begin with.

The docks were full of seagulls and even a few pelicans, with boats ranging from single person only to large full own crew sized, big enough to have a family living on it even.

"While I would normally take out her," Evelyn said as she pointed out a beautiful dark brown almost black boat with large billowing sails and intricate carvings along the rail, "today we'll be taking out my first boat," she said as she lead him a little ways away from the beautiful ship, to a much smaller boat but just a simple. It could probably hold four to five people tops without much more room.

The boat itself was dark blue with white trimming and interior, with many ropes crossing back and forth across it.

"She's just a simple daysailer, but she's a beauty and can get pretty fast with enough wind and if we're going a particular direction." She said as she climbed onto the boat.

"Are you willing to explain it to me?" Virgil asked, "how it all works and such." He added, thinking that if he understood how it worked he might trust it a bit more not to tip over and drown them both.

"Sure," She said, "let's talk about wind first." She began.

"So lets say the wind is coming towards up from that way," she said as she gestured towards the direction the boat is pointing, "if we try and sail that way we're not going to move, that's the 'no go zone', it's roughly 45 degrees." she said, "a little to the left and right of this zone is called the 'close-hauled' which is sailing just along the edge of that zone," she continued. "Think of this like a clock," she added. "With the 'no go zone' as ten o'clock to 2 o'clock with the wind coming towards us at noon, and the 'close-hauled' area being five to ten past 2 o'clock, or five to ten before 10 o'clock."

"Then, if the wind is still coming towards us from noon, you could easily sail this way," She said point away from the boat, "metaphorically speaking this would be 3 o'clock or 9 o'clock, and is called the 'beam-reach'." She said.

"Then if the wind is still coming from noon you can easily sail at the 4 o'clock and 8 o'clock areas, with is called the 'broad-reach', and then the next area you can sail in is at 6 o'clock directly facing away from the wind, and is called the 'running' or the 'dead down wind'." She explained.

"Now let's get into the actual boat itself," she said. "This is the cockpit," She said, gesturing to the inside of the boat. "Up there is the bow," she said, pointing to the front of the boat, "the middle here is the midship, and the back is the stern." She said, "and then the starboard is right side of the boat, and the port is the left side of the boat," she added, before moving towards the stern and lifting up a stick shaped lever thing.

"This is the tiller, this turns the rudder of the boat," she said as she turned the stick from side to side, "the rudder is underneath the hull of the boat, and will turn the boat depending on how you point it while moving," she said.

"Then this tall pole in the middle here is called the mast," she said, " the thing at the very tippy top is called the wind vane, it tells you where the wind is coming from, and all these ropes are called the rigging that keeps the mast up right, with the backstay that keeps up the back of the mast, the shrouds on the that keep up the sides of the mast, and the forestay which keeps up the front of the mast." she said.

"This long part connected to the mast here," she said, running her hand along a long beam wrapped in fabric horizontally parallel to the boat next to her, "this is called the boom," she said.

"And this" She said as she reached down and grabbed a couple of ropes attached to the the boom and to the deck, "this is called the main sheet, it'll connect to the main sail and help you to control the main sail." She said.

"The fabric here on the boom is actually the main sail and the main sails cover, She said as she ran her fingers over the cover again, before moving down to the edge of the cockpit.

"And this right here," she said as she reached down and grabbed a knob-looking thing the size of her palm, "is called the wench, this is where you take the sheet from the head sail, and wrap it around clock wise, to help get some tension on the sail." She explained, "and there's a wench handle, she said as she reached down and picked up a rod of metal, "this just makes it much easier to turn the wench."

"The head sail is attached to the forestay," She said as she gestured to the bow before getting up and moving back over to the boom.

"This rope here is the halyard," she said as she grabbed onto a rope attached to the top of the boom that connected to the mast. "The halyard is connect to the top of each sail, or the head of each sail, and you have one for the main sail and another for the head sail." She said. "The halyard raised the head of the sail up, and in turn raised the sail itself."

"Then you have the dock lines, which connect the boat to the dock so that it doesn't drift away," She said as she painted to the ropes that were attached to the boat and also tied around a thick column of wood that went up to Virgil's waist.

"That's the basic layout of the boat," she said. "Now onto prepping the boat," she added with a grin. "First, come aboard, I'll explain on the go." She said, "the guards can stay here for now." She added.

Virgil bit his lip nervously, looking between the water, the boat, and Evelyn.

He hesitantly stepped forwards and onto the edge of the boat, stumbling a little bit as the boat moved and dipped, but Evelyn quickly caught his arm and pulled him into the cockpit, "don't worry, everything will be fine." She said, "I barely ever tip over." She said.

Virgil gulped slightly and nodded, sitting down in the cockpit as he gripped the edge of his shirt tightly, his body tense and ready to move if he needed to.

"Now let's take the cover off of the main sail," She said as she quickly untied the cover from the boom, storing the fabric in a small compartment.

"Now I'm going to grab the head of the main sail and put it in its track on the side of the mast," She said she she walked forwards and grabbed the corner of the sail shed just uncovered, slipping it into the track that would lead it up to the top of the mast. "And now I'll take the halyard and attached it to the head of the sail," She said as she went around and unhooked the halyard from where it was once connected to the boom, before connecting it to the head of the sail.

"I'm not going to raise this until we're in the wind, but it's ready and waiting now," she said.

"Now I going to get the head sail ready," she said, "and in this boat it's stored in the compartment here." She said as she kneeled down on the bow of the ship and opened up a small hatch. She pulled out a large bundle of fabric and went about unfolding it and attaching it to the bottom of the forestay at the edge of the bow, and then put the head of the sail into its reach on the forestay, and attaching the halyard of the head sail to the head of the sail, talking Virgil through the steps as she did this and pulled the slack out of the halyard.

"Again, I'm not going to raise the sail yet," she said. "But it's still ready for when I do."

She then attached part of the sail called the clew to two ropes called the gibsheets, which she then attached to each side of the boat around the midship area on the outside of the shrouds, she also wound up the gibsheets so that it wasn't messy and lessened the chances of her tripping over the ropes.

"Now we can actually start sailing," She said with a grin.

Virgil gulped softly and nodded as he gave her a nervous smile before biting his lip.

She went about untying the boat from the dock, and shoving the off and away from the docks, getting them out into open water for now.

Virgil clutched the edge of his seat tightly, practically shaking as the boat moved farther and farther away from land. He really really wished he had at least one of the others with him right now, they'd know how to calm him down in this situation and help him to not be afraid and just be there for him, they'd comfort him and hold him and tell him everything was okay and that he wasn't going to drown or die or anything like that, but they weren't here and he was going to drown and die without telling them goodbye or that he loved them one last time.

"Hey," Evelyn said softly as she kneeled down in front of him, his eyes snapping up to look at her as he realized his breathing had sped up and become shallow, his face paler then usual and his skin cold and clammy. 

"Everything's going to be fine," she said softly, "I'm only taking us on a little spin. we won't be going anywhere near the big waves or the actual open ocean." She said, "if we do tip over I know how to swim with someone on my back, and if worse comes to worse I know how to do CPR," she said.

"But that's not going to happen," she added, "it's a calm, gentle day, the ocean is still and there's just enough wind for us to sail at a leisure pace, nothing that'll make us go horribly fast or tip us, and no sign of a storm or the ocean getting riled up at all in the near future." She slowly reached forwards and placed a hand on his knee, squeezing gently.

"Next to nothing in these waters are going to get ya unless you try to get them first, and even then the worst that can happen to you is just a bite, nothing venomous or actually deadly." She said.

"I promise you I'll keep you safe," she said as she looked at him in the eyes, "just trust me and trust the boat." She said.

Virgil gulped softly but nodded anyway, slowly releasing his death grip on his seat and folding his hands in his lap, twisting and curling them nervously.

"O-okay," He said as he took a deep breath.

Evelyn smiled, "thank you," she said, "do you want me to keep telling you what I'm doing?" She asked

"No," he said as he shook his head, "j-just tell me if there's going to be any sudden changes and such." He added.

"Will do," she said as she stood back up and went about raising the main sail now, adjusting it accordingly to where the wind is. She quickly caught the wind in the sail and they began to move a little bit faster, actually using the wind now instead of just drifting along.

"We're just going to drift like this for a bit," she said, "I'll raise the head sail after a while." She said as she went and sat next to the tiller, gripping the wood as she began to steer the boat, while adjusting the sheet so the main sail still caught the wind and propelled them forwards.

They sailed like that for a few minutes, going at a steady pace that wasn't really slow or fast.

"I'm going to go ahead and raise the head sail now," she said, "it'll get a bit faster now, just so you know." She said as she got up and moved towards the bow of the boat. She quickly grabbed a rope, one Virgil didn't recognize, and tied it to the wench, and then grabbed a different rope, which Virgil recognized as the halyard, and watched as she went back around the mast and began to raise the head sail.

It wasn't a strong lurch or anything, but Virgil did feel them begin to pick up speed, but nothing horribly fast.

She coiled up all the loose ropes and stored them off to the side so that they weren't in the way or a hazard.

"No I'm going to need to turn into the 'no go zone' so we can get into the close-hauled zone on the other side, so that we can begin our loop," she said, "this is called tacking, and we're going to loose momentum when we enter the 'no go zone' so be ready for us to suddenly slow down for a second." She said, waiting until she had received a nod from Virgil before moving about releasing the rope attached the the wench on the starboard side, and turning the boat with the tiller.

The sails immediately dropped and the suddenly slowed down from the speed they'd managed to get.

Virgil watched as main sail moved on its own to recatch the wind as the exited on the other side of the dead zone, Evelyn attaching the rope to the wench on the port side before going back to the tiller and steering them to the side so that they were now sailing along the edge of the coast instead of away from it.

"And now we're on our way," she said as she moved to sit next to the tiller.

"You make it look so easy." Virgil said.

"I mean, I've been on boats since before I could walk, and I've been sailing since I was strong enough to control the sheet." She said, "for me it is pretty easy, but for others it's a bit more difficult."

Virgil nodded and looked back at the shore, it looked so far away but also really pretty. He slowly began to relax a little, trusting the boat to not tip over.

"I have to ask before we continue on though," Evelyn suddenly said, "is this romantic or platonic? I mentioned in my letter that I was fine with either, and I know in your letter you said you weren't looking for a partner, but I want to double check so that I don't make you uncomfortable or anything." She said.

"Ah, well thank you," Virgil began, "and sorry if this upsets you but this'll just be platonic." He said with an apologetic smile.

She shrugged, "fine by me," she said nonchalantly, "while I do think you're attractive it was really my aunt who suggested I try my chances with you," she admitted, "and in all honesty I don't think I'm ready for a partner yet myself." She added.

"Well at least you're not going to be upset with me and push me out of the boat, so I can cross that off my list of things to worry about." Virgil joked, earning a snort and a grin from Evelyn.

"I doubt I'd ever get that mad about this kind of thing, if you scratched the boat though..." she trailed off with a laugh, and Virgil picked up that she was joking.

"Also, if you wouldn't mind I'd prefer you call me Eve or Eves, maybe even lyn if you want, instead of Evelyn, it's too fancy in my opinion." She said as she adjusted the tiller a little.

"Will do," Virgil said with a smile, "you can just call me Virgil or Verge I suppose." He said. 

He didn't know why, but he felt far more relaxed with Eve then he did with Veronica. Not that his time with Veronica was bad, he just seemed to be having more fun with Eve, it was more casual.

"Alrighty." She said. "We should be arrive at the beach in a few minutes," She added, adjusting the sheet a little bit.

"Okay," Virgil said as he looked back out at the ocean.

"Can I touch the water? Or will it cause us to tip?" He asked.

"Go right ahead," Eve said, "if I sit over here you can even dangle your feet off the edge and into the water if you really want." She said as she shifted so that she was sitting on the port side of the boat, still holding a hand on the tiller.

Virgil hesitated, but nodded as he took his sandals off and carefully got up and moved so that he as sitting on the edge of the boat, gripping the edge tightly as he felt it bob up and down a little, before balancing out again.

He carefully sat down and slowly dipped his feet into the water, shivering at the cold that quickly nipped at his skin. It actually felt pretty good on his skin to be honest, especially with the hot sun above them.

They chattered as the continued to sail, talking about random things that came to mind for the next half hour or so.

Eventually she shifted the tiller and told him he should probably take his feet out of the water since she was going to shift them again.

He did as told and went back to sitting in the boat itself a as she adjusted the the sheets and tiller again, the boat turning so that it was no going back the way they'd come.

They continued to chatter again as they continued to sail, Virgil eventually telling her about Roman, Logan and Patton. He didn't tell her they were is boyfriends or anything, just referred to them as his close and only friends, minus Remy and Thomas of course, and such forth.

She told him about a couple of her friends, and mentioned having even met Veronica and Aaron on a few occasions.

"Aaron is a sweetheart," she said, "too sweet for his own good sometimes, I'm sure the two of you will become friends." She said.

They eventually made their way back to the docks, and Eve retied the boat to the dock and took down the sails and such.

Their guards were waiting there for them, and once they had finished packing everything away they were lead back to the castle.

Virgil hadn't realized how much time they'd spent outside on the water and just in town, but the sun had started making its descent already, much to his amazement.

He was whisked away to his room, where he changed back into his own clothes from that morning, stacking his borrowed shorts, shirt and sandals in a neat pile on the edge of the bed.

He was then lead to a study, where Eve was.

She was wearing a simple pale blue blouse that was tucked into a pair of dark grey almost black pants that flared out from her need down to her ankles, along with a loose off-white ascot around her neck. There was also a thick formal looking coat the same shade of grey with off-white trimming and buttons draped over a wooden chair next to the desk.

"I have a book and and your friend Logan might enjoy reading," she said as she held out a thick book with a leather cover, "it's more on the fictional side, but it does of some realistic aspects and limitations, I'm sure you'll both like it." She said.

"Thank you," Virgil said.

"You can also drop the 'I'm a guest in a castle and need to be incredibly formal' talk," She said, doing air quotes, "it's just the two of us here and who needs to be formal when you're not at a party," she said as she flopped back on to one of the over stuffed arm chairs, pulling her hair out of its bun and letting it fall where it wanted. "Just relax." She said.

"Bold of you to assume my anxiety would let me," Virgil said with a laugh as he sat down on the love seat adjacent to her chair.

Eve snorted. "Bold of you to assume I won't fight your anxiety." She said.

They began to chatter, and slowly but surly Virgil began to relax, and after twenty minutes found himself flopped down on his back with one leg dangling off the edge of the couch.

"Then she grabbed it and it basically exploded all over her hand," Eve said with a grin and a laugh.

"Remind me never to grab a sea cucumber." Virgil said as he rolled onto his side and wrapped his arms around a couch pillow.

"Duly noted." She said.

The two were then interrupted by a knock on the door.

Virgil and Eve both quickly sat up right, straightening themselves out.

"Come in," Eve said calmly as she looked at the door.

A servant stood there, "Your highnesses, dinner will be served within the next ten minutes, the king and queen are waiting in the dining room." He said.

"We will join them shortly, thank you." She said with a polite nod, gaining a nod in return from the man before he left.

"Well, I hope you're ready for dinner, it should be mussels and clams in tomato and garlic broth if I'm not mistaken, along with a few side dishes." She said as she stood up with a stretch.

"Sounds delicious," Virgil said as he stood up as well.

"Let's go, it'd be rude to keep my parents for too long." She said with a grin.

The two of them left the room, the guards that had been stationed outside at the door quickly following them to the dining room, where the king and queen sat.

Eve's mother had the same dark red hair as her daughter, but hers was straight and cut just bellow her jaw instead of long and curly. She had a heart shaped face with sharp features, and even though she was sitting down Virgil could tell she was probably taller than the king.

"Ah, you're here," The king said with a smile, "how was your little adventure today?" He asked as Eve and Virgil took their seats across from them, deciding to sit next to each other.

"It went well," Eve said, "I showed Virgil how the boat works, and we both had a nice time sailing around." She said.

"It was quite nice, bright and sunny and peaceful," Virgil said with a smile.

"I'm glad the two of you had fun," he said with a smile, "and Virgil, allow me to introduce you to my wife Amelia," he said, gesturing to her.

"It's a pleasure to meet you your majesty," Virgil said with a small nod.

"The pleasure is all mine," Amelia said with a smile. "Sorry I couldn't join you this afternoon at lunch, there was a problem going on down at the docks about someone missing their crab traps and people started pointing fingers." She said, "we got it all smoothed out though." She added.

"Well I'm glad you were able to get things sorted out." Virgil said with a smile.

The food was soon brought in and laid out for them.

Just like Eve had said, it was mussels and clams in a tomato paste and garlic broth, with bits of basil and other seasonings mixed in, along with a side of fresh salad, some bead rolls, and cold shrimp with dipping sauce.

Virgil thought that it all tasted delicious, especially the clams, and the bread tasted great if you dipped it into the broth the mussels and clams were in.  
The shellfish was tender and it was easy to suck the meat out of the shells. They practically melted in your mouth and flooded your tasted buds with the delicious flavor that wasn't overpowering in the slightest but still delicious.

They chattered throughout dinner, talking out how their sail went, how things where back in Corona, if Virgil had any trouble with the food -which he most definitely did not.

They ate their fill, which was quite a lot actually, and soon finished their dinner, the plates and discarded shell baskets quickly being cleaned up.

Eventually dessert was brought in, after they'd let their food settle of course. It was medium sized bowls filled with a sweet bit tart lemon sorbet, with a sliced strawberry on top.

The sorbet ended up tasting delicious, and went along well after the meal, the lightness of the sorbet and the lemony flavor not clashing with the lingering taste of shellfish like Virgil had thought it would.

They soon finished that as well, and by then it was getting quite late, so they each exacted themselves to their rooms, with wishes of a good nights rest and a promise of a delicious breakfast in the morning.

Virgil was lead back to his guest room, and found that the clothes he'd worn earlier that day had been replaced with a pair of light blue pajamas, much thinner than the ones he'd been provided at Daaron, but it was much colder in the mountains so it made sense.

He quickly changed before turning out the lights and climbing into the bed.

It had a large soft mattress that cradled Virgil as he sunk into it, along with a thick fluffy blanket and several pillows, all various shades of blue, grey and white, going well with the ocean theme the room had.

He curled up under the blanket as he grabbed one of the larger extra pillows and wrapped his arms around it, burying his face in the soft fabric as he curled up around it, holding it tighter.

Sleep came smoothly for him, the warm blankets and full belly helping with it, along with the soothing sounds of the waves outside.

He woke up quite early the next morning, early enough for the sun to have just barely started coming up, and spent a bit of time just lounging in his bed and reading the book he had been reading on the trip here, not knowing if he was allowed to roam around the castle, and not wanting to risk it in fear of being rude to his hosts.

After what was most likely an hour or two there was a knock on his door.

"Are you decent?" A new, yet now familiar, voice called through the door, and Virgil could practically hear the smile on her face.

"Yes, come in." He said as he put his book down.

The door opens up to reveal Eve, still in her own pajamas.

She came in, closing the door behind her, and flopped onto the bed.

“Why hello,” Virgil said, “to what do I owe the pleasure?” He asked.

“My boredom.” She said.

“Ah yes, boredom, such a cruel thing.” Virgil said as he laid back on some of the pillows.

They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, before Eve piped up.

“Ready to go to Villion?” She asked as she rolled on her side to look at him.

“Yeah,” Virgil said, “I’m pretty excited,” he continued, “but I’m also kinda ready to go home.” He admitted.

“Understandable,” She said, “you’ve been gone for several days and have spent a large portion of that time riding around in a carriage.” She said, “I’d be pretty tired and ready to go home as well.”

Virgil hummed in response.

They chattered for what was probably another hour before there was a knocking on the door.

“Your highness, breakfast will be served in half an hour.” A voice called through.

“Alright, thank you.” Virgil called back.

“I should probably go get dressed.” Eve said as she sat up.

“Probably.” Virgil said as he stretched.

“I’ll see you at breakfast.” Eve said as she stood up and stretched as well, before heading out of the room with a wave.

Virgil got up out of bed and changed back into the clothes he’d worn the day before, with the white vest and purple shirt, before fixing his hair a bit and heading out of the room.

He walked to the dinning room at a slow pace, his guards trailing behind him.

He joined the king, queen and Eve for breakfast, which were crab omelets with a side of fruit salad and buttered toast.

Then he and Eve went out to the beach next to the docks and hunted for shells and pretty rocks in the sand, staying out there for a few hours before deciding to go into town.

She showed him the large library they’d passed by the day before, which Virgil enjoyed quite a bit, and lead him through the market, showing him some of the weird fish he’d seen the day before.

Eventually they went back to the castle for lunch, which ended up being a tasty clam chowder with large chunks of potatoes in the creamy broth, and a side of crunchy bread and prawns.

After lunch Virgil went back to his room to change again, slipping on a pair of dark burgundy, almost black, pants, his same black shoes with golden buckles, a dark purple shirt with poofy sleeves that were winched at his wrists and ended in ruffles, and a ruffled turtle neck. On top of that he had a black wrap-around belt made out of fabric, and a vest that matched his pants with embroidered flowers on it and gold buttons, he left the vest open instead of buttoning it though.

He packed his bag and made his way to the front of the castle with his guards, where his carriage and the king, queen and Eve were waiting.

He bid them farewell, with promises to visit again soon and for them to visit Corona, before climbing inside his carriage.

He waved goodbye through the window as he began to leave, heading towards Villion.

“Two down one to go.” Virgil said softly as he got into a comfortable position in his seat, knowing that he had a long ride ahead of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys liked this chapter!! The next one will be out eventually, soon hopefully.


	31. Chapter 25 part 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Virgil's time in the kingdom of Villion with prince Aaron.  
And coming home.  
FINAL PART FOR CHAPTER 25!!!  
Hope yalls are ready!  
(I totally don't already have chapter 26 started and more then halfway done)

Virgil yawned softly as he turned the page of his book, partially regretting the nap he had decided to take since now he was still really sleepy, but he shouldn't go back to sleep because they were going to be there soon.

The sun had recently begun to set, and he had lit the small lamp on the carriage wall so that he could still read.

They were supposed to show up in the next few minutes, which meant Virgil needed to wake himself up enough to look presentable and not fall asleep in the middle of dinner and dessert.

He put his book down and went about making himself look presentable, straightening out his clothes, fixing his hair, and such forth.

The carriage soon stopped, and his door was opened, letting him come outside.

Everything was so bright and green despite the setting sun.

Trees and other plants were everywhere, lining the streets, surrounding the houses, circling the whole kingdom, absolutely everywhere.

The roads were laid down in dark sturdy looking bricks, a thin layer of dirt coating them, but it didn't look dirty, just well worn. All the houses and buildings were in various shades of yellow, white and brown, and had many windows, some buildings even having glass ceilings and skylights. The buildings were also half timbered, the dark symmetrical wooden patterns standing out on the light colored houses, and some had some type of ivy or other vine creeping up the sides. Green and yellow flags hung aground the place, and fire lit lanterns were strung between buildings down the street, adding to its beauty. The kingdom had a quaintness to it, looking like it was pulled out of a fairy tale from a book, delicate yet sturdy and old. 

Virgil was lead up to the castle, which had green and yellow flags hanging from it as well, where he met the queen and prince Aaron who standing in front of the doors.

"It is wonderful to see you've arrived safe and sound," the queen said with a smile, "we had begun wondering if you had run into trouble along the road when the sun had began to go down and you hadn't arrived yet." She said.

The Queen, named Diana if Virgil recalled correctly, stood a few inches shorter than the prince, just an inch or so above Virgil's own height. She had thin brown and grey hair that touched her shoulders, and had soft wrinkles across her face, but that didn't make her any less beautiful. Her eyes were a bright shade of brown, and her smile was warm and friendly.   
She wore a deep emerald green dress with gold detailing and white lace, the dark color of the dress standing out in a lovely way against her pale skin. If Virgil could recall correctly she was actually Aaron's grandmother on his mothers side, his parents having died due to illness when he was young. He wasn't sure how true that was, since he'd read it in a book, but didn't mention it nonetheless.

"Sorry for our late arrival, the horses needed a break along the way and we departed slightly later than planned." Virgil said with an apologetic smile as he bowed.

"Do not worry dear, we don't take offense, and are just happy to see you here and well." She said, "now let me introduce you to my nephew." She said as she gestured to him.

"This is my nephew, Aaron, I hope the two of you are able to bond in at least friendship if not something more." She said.

Aaron stood taller than virgil, around the same height as Roman or Logan if not a tad bit shorter. He had smooth dark skin the color of hazelnut shells, and dark brown almost black curly and wavy hair that was cut short, to just bellow the tips of his ears. He had dark brown eyes, and a tiny mole beneath the corner of his his right eye.

He was wearing an off-white button up with lacy frills at the edges of his sleeves and a frilled tie that was also kind of lacy, a light olive colored vest with pale gold embroidery and buttons, and a pair of pants that matched his vest sans the embroidery, along with a pair of brown leather shoes with pale gold buckles.

"Its a pleasure to meet you," Aaron said with a kind smile and a small bow.

"The pleasure is all mine." Virgil said, returning the smile and the bow.

"Come, dinner is just about ready and I'm sure you're hungry after your trip here." The Queen said, waving for them to follow her inside.

They were lead to the dining room, which had a large beautiful wooden table, with a few bouquets of white and yellow flowers in a row down the center. There were potted plants in the corners of the room, and several tapestries hung on the walls, depicting images of the earth and forests, along with creatures like deer and rabbits. The ceiling had several large skylights in it, and during the day the room was most likely very bright with sunlight. Windows lines the walls that didn't have tapestries, tall windows that were half covered by dark moss green curtains, the light of the setting sun glowing through them.

"You're so skinny," the queen said, "I'll have to make sure you get enough food." She said as she sat down at the table.

Virgil blushed slightly. "That's not necessary," he said shyly, "Thank you though." He added.

"Nonsense, you're a growing boy and need enough food." She said. "Maybe I'll send you a snack to have when you head home." She mumbled to herself, although everyone could hear her.

Virgil's blush darkened. "Thank you." He said with a shy smile as he sat down.

"Don't worry, she gets like this with all our guests, I hope she didn't offend you or anything." Aaron said quietly as he sat down next to Virgil.

"No not at all," Virgil said, "it's sweet." He added, gaining a smile from Aaron.

The food was then brought in, large bowls of ribbon-like noodles in a creamy sauce with onions, mushrooms, garlic and strips of tender shredded beef. The noodles were thick and absorbed the delicious sauce, the onions were soft and barely noticeable texture wise, their flavor going well with the garlic and the sauce. The meat was thin yet juicy, very tender to the point where it practically melted in your mouth. On the side there were thick chucks of toasted garlic bread, the outside crunchy and the inside fluffy and buttery.

"It's delicious," Virgil said after a few bites.

"Thank you, I'm glad you enjoy it," the queen said, "now, tell me about your other trips, you've been to Daaron and Palemoore, correct?"

Virgil smiled and began to tell the two of them who he'd met and what he'd done so far.

Eventually the topic branched from Virgil's trips to what it was like back home, if he was excited to go back, and such forth.

They finished their meal as they talked, and had let their food digest a bit before bringing in dessert.

Dessert was a dish similar to meringue, but not quite. It had a pale crisp outer shell and sweet and soft almost gooey inside, and was topped with thick vanilla whipped cream and a sugary strawberry compote. They each got their own little version of the dessert, and Virgil found it quite delicious after taking a bite of it, gently breaking the thin outer shell of the dessert, revealing the sweet gooey inside.

They chattered throughout dessert, and even for a little while after they'd finished eating, talking about everything from the weather to favorite animals and colors -Aaron liked the color blue and his favorite animal was a rabbit, and Diana liked the color red and her favorite animal was a starfish.

"It's getting late, and you're probably tired from your trip here." Diana said after she's noticed Virgil stifle a yawn. "How about we all go to bed for now and we can continue talking in the morning," she said as she stood up. "You'll also want to be well rest cause I'm sure Aaron has a full day of activities planned." She added with a grin.

Aaron blushed and smiled shyly. "I don't know about a whole day," he said, "and we don't have to do anything you don't want to." He quickly added as he glanced at Virgil.

"I'm sure I'll be fine with whatever you have planned," Virgil said with a smile, a faint blush on his cheeks as well, "I look forward to it." He added shyly.

"Oh come on now, better go off to bed before one of you faints from to much blush rushing to your head." The queen said as she began to gently shoo them out of the room, her words only making the two of them blush even more.

After bidding them goodnight Virgil was lead to the guest room he'd be staying in.

It had pale green walls with white trimming around the edges, and large windows on one side of the room, covered by thick cream colored curtains that didn't let any light through, and paintings and small tapestries along the walls that didn't have windows. The floors were a pale sand-colored wood, and a thick and fluffy light brown rug laid on top of it. There was a desk off to the side, and a wooden bookshelf stuffed with well worn books sat in the corner close to the bed. The bed itself was large and looked very fluffy. It was a four poster canopy style bed, with thin almost see through pale green curtains draped over it in multiple layers, getting darker shades of green the farther back the layer was. The wood of the bed was a pale and cool brown, and it was covered by a thick green and white quilt with embroidered flowers and ferns on it, and it had several pillows of various sizes piled at the top of it as well, all of them either light green, pale yellow, or while.

There was a folded set of pajamas on the bed, a light green color with a couple of flowers embroidered around the cuffs of both the sleeves and the pants.

He changed out of his clothes, leaving them in a neat stack on the desk, before changing into the pajamas and crawling into bed, humming softly as he was enveloped by the soft fluffy blankets. He fell asleep rather quickly, curled up on his side beneath the blankets with his arms wrapped around a pillow.

He woke up slowly the next morning, lazing in bed since he woke up early enough to, dozing on and off as he snuggled with pillows under the blankets. It wasn't until an hour or two later that there was a knock on the door, telling him breakfast would be ready in half an hour.

He reluctantly slipped out of the warm bed, immediately wanting to crawl back in after he'd left it, but forced himself not to since he needed to get ready for his day with prince Aaron.

He changed out of the pajamas, leaving them in a neat pile on top of the desk, before changing back into his outfit from the day before.

After he finished getting ready he made his way back to the dining room, where he saw the queen and Aaron sitting, chatting quietly. Both looked up and smiled when they saw him.

"Ah, Virgil, breakfast will be served in just a few minutes, come have a seat." Diana said with a smile.

Virgil smiled and took a seat across from Aaron, with Diana in between them at the head of the table.

They began to chatter as they waited for breakfast to be ready, them asking if he'd slept well and him asking the same in return, and such forth.

Food was brought in after ten or so minutes, they were similar to crepes and pancakes, but thicker than crepes and thinner than pancakes. They were more dense than both pancakes and crepes, had lots of cinnamon and vanilla in them, and were a warm brown color. Several jams and whipped creams and berries were laid out as well to use as toppings for them.

The three of them quickly dug into the meal, with Virgil complementing the food again as they ate, since it really was quite good.

After they'd finished eating the queen left the two of them alone, saying she had Queenly-Queen-business that only a Queenly-Queen could do, her words not Virgil's.

"So," Aaron began as he and Virgil began to walk out of the castle, "is there anything you'd like to do?" He asked.

"I have nothing in particular that I'd really like to do," Virgil said, "what did you have planned?" He asked.

"Well," he began, "I was think maybe I could show you around through the kingdom a bit, and then maybe to a couple of nice places in the forest? If you're okay with that, if you don't want to then you don't need to." He said, quickly adding the last part.

"No, I'm okay with that, it sounds nice." Virgil said with a smile, which grew a bit bigger when Aaron gave him one in return.

With their guards trailing behind them, the two princes made their way out of the castle and into the kingdom.

Aaron lead him from shop to shop, showing him impressive wood carvings in some shops and delicate instruments in others, which is were he learned that Aaron played the violin.

He lead him through the bustling market, where they passed by stalls that smelled amazing and stalls that had gorgeous plants in them.

They spent several hours just wandering around and looking at everything.

Virgil felt comfortable around Aaron, there wasn't this regal tenseness between them or even a romantic tenseness between them, Aaron seemed calm and collected, yet kind and understanding, always asking Virgil if something was okay before doing it, if showing him a certain shop was okay with him or if he'd rather not go inside, or if he was tired and needed a break to sit for a minute. He was very considerate, seeming to put Virgil's wants and needs ahead of his own.

Virgil ended up feeling a little guilty as he looked into a bit more. What if he was just being this nice because he was hoping he'd win Virgil affections? Virgil would hate for it to seem like he was leading him on, but he didn't want to talk to him about it in public where anyone could hear, in case he ended up upsetting him, so he decided to wait, hoping that was the right decision.

They continued to wander throughout the kingdom for another few hours before heading back to the castle for lunch.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Virgil said after they'd entered the castle and their guards had left to take a quick break, at both Virgil and Aaron's insistence of course, they wouldn't have left other wise.

"Sure?" Aaron said with a curious expression, "lunch won't be ready for at least another ten to fifteen minutes." He said, before leading Virgil into a small most likely rarely used study, of its dustiness and lack of decoration had anything to say about it, not to far away from the dining room.

"So, what's up?" Aaron asked, "I didn't do something to make you uncomfortable did I?" He asked, his curious expression turning into a concerned one.

"No no, you didn't do anything like that." Virgil said reassuringly. "I just....I wanted to double check with you on this whole thing." He said, glancing away.

"Okay..." Aaron said slowly, shifting from foot to foot.

"Well, I just want to make sure you know that I'm not looking for a partner right now, and that this is only platonic." He said.

"I know," Aaron said, "I remember what you said in the letter." He added.

"Oh, okay good." Virgil said with a small smile.

"Can I ask you something?" Aaron asked.

"Um, sure?" Virgil said.

"Are you not looking for a partner because you just don't want one, or because... because I asked you?" He asked quietly, looking everywhere but at Virgil.

"What do you mean?" Virgil asked with a frown.

"Well... I'm a guy, and usually guys don't ask to court other guys, especially not when it comes to royalty, even though it's technically allowed." He said, "I just, if the reason you're not interested in a relationship is because I'm a guy then that's okay, I understand and I'm not upset or anything, I just...I want to know..." he said.

"Oh, oh no no, that's not why," Virgil said, "I don't care that you're a guy," he said, "and if I'm being completely honest, if I was looking for a partner you'd have much much better chances than Veronica or Eve, or any other possible princesses." Virgil said with a small blush.

"Wait, so you're..." Aaron trailed off, a look of utter hope in his eyes as he looked at Virgil.

"Gay? Yeah, I am." Virgil said with a smile. "Nobody really knows except for a few very close friends, not even my parents know." He said.

"But you told me." Aaron said.

"Well, I trust you." Virgil said, "you've been nothing but kind to me, always making sure I'm comfortable and that you're not forcing me to do anything, I really appreciate it." He said. "And....and I'm also starting to see you as a friend." He added softly.

"Really?" Aaron asked with a smile.

"Really." Virgil said as he returned the smile.

"Can...can I have a hug?" Aaron asked shyly, with a pinch of hope in his tone.

"Of course," Virgil said, before gently wrapping his arms around Aaron, who hesitantly did the same.

"I'll need to introduce you to my friend Patton," Virgil said softly, "He gives the best hugs, far better than mine." He added.

"No, this is a good hug." Aaron said. "But I'd love to meet him anyway." He added.

The two pulled away a few minutes later, all of their anxieties over the situation evaporating into the air.

"Ready for lunch?" Aaron asked with a smile. "It'll probably be ready soon, and we don't want to keep nana waiting to long."

"Nana?" Virgil said with a smile as the two of them walked out of the room.

Aaron blushed slightly, but the smile stayed on his face, "it's a nickname I gave her when I was younger, and it just stuck, although it's a private nickname, so I don't use it at public events and such." He said.

"I think it's cute." Virgil said as they entered the dining room.

"Ah, there you two are," queen Diana said from her seat at the head of the table, "just in time." She added as people began to bring food into the room.

The two of them quickly took the same seats they'd had that morning, across from each other with Diana in between them.

Lunch was quickly brought in and revealed to be thick 1/4 inch cuts of juicy tender beef covered in a thick savory sauce, similar to gravy but not quite the same, with mini roasted and peeled potatoes, but not mashed, with shredded basil, salt and butter on them as a side dish.

"It's a bit filling for a lunch, but if you two are going out to the woods later on like Aaron had mentioned to me as a possibility, I want to stuff some good food in you before you leave so you don't get hungry while you're out and about." She said.

"Thank you, that's very considerate." Virgil said with a smile.

The three of them continued to eat their food and chatter, with Diana asking if Virgil had been enjoying his time and if there was anything they could do to make it more enjoyable if he wasn't comfortable, and such forth, with Virgil telling her that he'd been enjoying his time there quite a bit, that their kingdom was lovely, and that he was fine for now, and that they were already being very generous towards him as it was.

They finished their meal an hour or so after noon, and had let their food settle before heading back outside.

It took a while to convince the guards to let them go into the woods on their own, but after multiple reassurances that they both had some amount of fighting skills and that Aaron was bringing a dagger, they were reluctantly allowed to go on their own.

"Do you actually k ow how to use that dagger?" Virgil asked as the two of them began to trek into the woods.

"I do," Aaron said with a smile as they walked. "Do you actually know how to fight?"

"I do, although I'm better in a fight with a frying pan or at least a sword." Virgil said with a shrug.

"A frying pan huh, is that something you do in Corona?" Aaron asked as he ducked under a tree branch.

"No, just me." Virgil said. "I find it easier and more efficient than some giant sword and such." He added.

"Well, if it works it works." Aaron said with a shrug as he chuckled.

They continued to walk, ducking under branches, sliding over logs, and hopping across the occasional stream.

"Where exactly are we going?" Virgil asked after roughly forty to fifty minutes of walking.

"Somewhere special," Aaron said with a grin.

"Well that's specific." Virgil said sarcastically with a small huff.

"Well if you're getting tired then I can carry you the rest of the way if you want." Aaron said teasingly with a small smirk.

"Don't you even dare." Virgil said, his cheeks turning pink. "I can walk just fine on my own."

"Whatever you say," Aaron said with a shrug, the smirk still on his lips.

The two of them continued to walk for another twenty to thirty minutes before arriving at a circle of trees.

In the middle of the gap of trees and foliage was a large pond. The water was pristine and stood clear and still, showing all the way down to the bottom of it, where you could see a few small fish and other amphibians occasionally squirming around. It had large blades of thick grass shooting up around the edges, with clumps of cattails scattered throughout them, and it had a twisted log towards one side of the pond, half submerged in the water.  
Surrounding the pond itself was a pebbled beach of sorts, which melted into soft grass and patches of flowers, before eventually melding back into the tree line.

"Well," Aaron said as he took a step forwards, "What do you think?" He asked.

"It's beautiful." Virgil said softly as he followed him.

Aaron smiled. "I'm glad you like it," he said as he sat down in the grass not to far away from the pond. "Nana and I used to come out here and watched the turtles and fish when I was younger, though she hasn't had much time or energy to lately." He said.

Virgil sat down a foot or two away from Aaron, leaning against a small tree.

"I'm sure she'll be up for it eventually, being queen is probably stressful." Virgil said as he gently ran his fingers through the grass.

"True." Aaron said softly, before shifting so that he was laying on his back.

The two began to chatter as they relaxed, and Virgil eventually found himself linking flowers together into a chain.

"Can I ask you a question?" Virgil asked as he slipped another flower into the chain.

"You just did, but I suppose." Aaron said with a smile and a small laugh.

"Oh hush," Virgil said with a smile.

"Anyway, what I wanted to ask was why you immediately assumed I didn't want to court you was because you were a guy? I mean, yeah I might not have swung the same way, but I mentioned in my letter that I was fine with it." Virgil said as he looked over at him.

"Well..." Aaron seemed to hesitate. "You're not...you're not the first guy I've ever tried to court." He said slowly. "there was another guy, and he...he didn't take it very well," Aaron said. "He ended up completely denying my proposal in a public manner and refused to meet with me despite the obligation the person had to give every suitor a chance." He said.

"It was an embarrassment to my kingdom and to myself, I felt so much shame, but I couldn't be mad at him because I wasn't going to just force myself upon him or anything if the thought of wing with me made him so uncomfortable." He continued. "So I kind of just stopped looking for a partner for a while, until I saw you at the ball and my nana encouraged me to try." He said. "But it didn't work yet again." He said with a sad smile.

"Aaron..."

"And I'm not trying to guilt trip you," Aaron said as he sat up, "it's okay that you don't like me that way, I'm happy that you don't like me because you're just not looking for a relationship and not because I'm a guy." He quickly said.

"I just....I don't think I'll ever find someone." He said, looking down at his hands in his lap.

"Hey, don't say that." Virgil said as he shifted forwards so that he was kneeling in front of Aaron. "There or thousands of guys out there who would probably love to be with you," he said as he reached forwards and hesitantly cupped one of Aaron's cheeks, trying to think of what Patton would do, "who cares what some pompous homophobic prick of a prince thinks? If he's like this then you deserve better than him and he doesn't deserve someone as amazing as you." Virgil continued as he made Aaron look at him.

"And maybe you won't even need to be with a prince," He said, "maybe there's some baker or a scribe or scholar or someone who actually does like you but doesn't think they'll ever be with you cause they think you deserve better then them," Virgil said, "you're options aren't only limited to princes." He added with a smile.

Aaron seemed to let that sink in for a few seconds, before a look of sudden realization flashed on his face, his cheeks turning a little pink.

He looked at Virgil, and smiled broadly at him, his eyes tearing up a little bit. "Can I have another hug?" He asked.

Virgil don't say anything and just pulled him into a tight hug, letting Aaron relax against him as the two of them sat there.

"Thank you," Aaron mumbled from where his face was pressed against Virgil's shoulder.

They sat like that for a while before slowly pulling apart and going back to what they'd been doing, Virgil chaining flowers together and Aaron laying on his back.

They chattered as the sun began to slowly sink down into the trees, eventually deciding they needed to head back now.

"We should probably leave before it gets to dark, we don't want nana to worry, and we don't want you to be late on your trip back." Aaron said as he stood up and dusted himself off.

"You're probably right," Virgil said as he finished his second chain and linked the two ends together, making a flower crown out of the large daisies, before twisting his other chain of buttercups around it, making a single crown.

He stood up and put it on Aaron's head. "Lead the way." He said with a smile.

Aaron blushed slightly and shifted the crown with a smile before leading Virgil back into the woods in the direction they'd come.

The trip back felt faster than the trip there, but that didn't stop it from being dark by the time they were walking through the streets back towards the castle.

"I had fun with you today," Virgil said as they walked, looking up at the small strings of lanterns hung above them.

"Me too," Aaron said, "and thank you." He added.

"It was nothing." Virgil said with a shy smile, his cheeks turning pink.

"Would you ever like to hang out again some time? As friends?" Aaron asked after a few beats of silence. "I only really ever hang out with Evelyn and that's only when we're at the same party." He said.

"I'd love to," Virgil said, "maybe if you come to corona some time I can introduce you to my friends," he said, "maybe we could invite Eve one of the times as well." He added.

"I'd like that." Aaron said as they finally walked up to the castle doors, nodding to the guards before slipping inside.

They quickly made their way to the dining room, where Diana was waiting for them.

"Ah, there you are." She said with a smile, "dinner is ready but I was having them wait to bring it out until you two got back." She said, before nodding and smiling at a servant in the corner, who quickly left out the door.

"Did you boy's have fun?" She asked as the two sat down on either side of her, across from each other.

"Yes," Virgil said with a smile as Aaron nodded in agreement. "The forest was beautiful."

"I'm glad the two of you had fun," she said as the food was quickly brought in and laid out on the table.

Tonight it was plates of tender wild boar ribs, a long thin bones attached to large oval shaped cuts of juicy meat a little bit smaller than Virgil's hand, roughly half an inch thick, and seasoned with several spices and had a crisp outer layer from the roasting. As a side there were mashed garlic potatoes with a thin but savory gravy, a fresh salad with sweet cherry tomatoes that popped in your mouth, and thin slices of toasted bread with butter.

"Eat as much as you want, I'm sure you're both hungry after your day in the woods, especially you Virgil, I don't want you getting hungry on the trip home." Diana said.

"Thank you, I appreciate your concern." Virgil said with a smile, gaining a smile in return from Diana.

They all dig into the meal, which Virgil complimented again. The meat was tender and juicy, and the blend of spices was perfect. The potatoes were creamy, but still went well with the subtle taste of garlic, and the bread was crunchy and tasted delicious. The salad was good as well, even though Virgil wasn't the biggest fan of cherry tomatoes, he still ate them though.

They talked as they ate, asking Virgil if he knew how long the trip from here to corona would be, him asking what they were going to do next after he’d left and such, going back and forth between asking questions.

They soon finished the meal, their plates cleared away quickly and efficiently. They let their food settle instead of having dessert right away, despite that putting Virgil a little bit behind schedule, he didn’t really mind though.

Eventually dessert was served, which ended up being thick slices of a double layered chocolate cake with thick chocolate frosting on top of it in swirls and in between the two layers of cake, and sugar sweet cherries on top, placed delicately on the swirls of frosting.

The cake itself was moist, sweet, and a little bit on the rich side, but it wasn’t over powering, and the cherries helped with the richness of it. The frosting was sweet and light, just thick enough to keep the two layers of cake separated without squishing out the sides, and to hold up the cherries on top.

It was over all very delicious, and was a nice treat to finish off the night.

“Well,” Diana began after they’d finished their cake. “It’s getting rather late, so I suppose it’s about time for us to see Virgil off.” She said as she stood up.

Aaron and Virgil also stood up, and the three of them, along with their guards, made their way to the front of the castle.

“Thank you for you generosity and hospitality,” Virgil said with a smile as he turned to them, “I really enjoyed my time here.”

“It’s nothing at all,” Diana said with a smile, “come visit again whenever you want, I’m sure Aaron would enjoy the company.” She added, smiling when she saw Aaron’s cheeks flush a tiny bit.

“Thank you for everything,” Aaron said as he stepped forwards and pulled him into a hug, “and she’s right, visit whenever you want.” He added.

Virgil hugged him back, “and you can visit corona whenever you’d like to as well, we’ll readily welcome you whenever you want.” He said as they let go of one another.

“Have a safe trip.” Aaron said as Virgil walked towards his carriage.

“Thank you, I hope you to have a nice rest of your night.” Virgil said, waving slightly before getting inside his carriage.

He pulled the small curtain back on the window and smiled when he saw the two of them waving goodbye, he watched them until he could no longer see them out of the window.

He let the curtain fall back into place and moved to make himself comfortable, pulling out his book and wrapping himself in his blanket as they began the long trip home.

The carriage ride was long, longer than originally expected, and Virgil eventually ended up dozing off, curled up in his seat with his pillow and blanket, his book laying open on the floor where it had fallen.

It wasn’t until several hours later that they arrived back in the Kingdom of Corona. It was the dead of night, much closer to morning then they had wanted, with only a few lights on throughout the kingdom.

The carriage eventually pulled to a stop, and Virgil slowly blinked awake with a small groan.

“We’ve arrived your highness.” The voice of his coachman said through the door.

Virgil sat up and stretched before rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “Alright, thank you again Charles.” He said, before picking his book up and rolling up his blanket, setting his pillow on top of it.

He then exited the carriage, shivering slightly at the cold night air suddenly nipping his skin.

His guards lead him into the castle, where he saw his parents waiting for him.

“Oh Virgil, you’re home.” His mother said with a bright smile as she moved forwards and pulled him into a hug, his father quickly joining in.

Virgil smiled and hugged them back, “Yeah, sorry we’re late.” He said.

“Oh it’s nothing, don’t apologize dear,” His mother said, “we’re just happy your home.” She added as she and his father let Virgil go.

“Your friends had wanted to stay up with us to wait for you, but it was getting rather late so we sent them back to their rooms maybe an hour or two ago, I’m sure they’ll be ecstatic in the morning when they see you.” His father said with a smile. “They were pretty insistent and stubborn on staying down here.” He added with a laugh.

“You’ll need to tell them and us how it all went tomorrow morning at breakfast,” His mother said, “or maybe brunch, it’s rather late and you do need your sleep,” she continued, “it’s probably be best for you to sleep in a bit.”

“Speaking of which, it’s probably time for all of us to go to bed.” His father said with a smile. “Although there is a bath prepared for you if you wish to bathe first.” He added.

“I just might do that.” Virgil said with a smile, before stifling a yawn. “I promise I’ll tell you everything tomorrow.” He said.

His mother smiled brightly at him, and she and his father bid him goodnight before sending him up to his room and heading to their own room for the night.

Virgil waved his guards away, telling them that he can make it to his room just fine and they they should go rest and be with their families now that they were back too.

They reluctantly agreed, and allowed Virgil to walk to his room on his own.

On his way up to his room, he heard a sharp, familiar tapping on one of the windows, followed by a caw-like sound.

He smiled and walked over, quickly opening the window, allowing Remy to hop inside and fly up to perch on his shoulder, cawing softly.

“Hey Rems,” virgil said with a small laugh as he reached up to scratch the top of Remys head, “did ya miss me?” He asked.

Remy cawed at him in response, playfully pecking at his fingers before butting his head against his cheek.

“Come on, I’ll smuggle you into my room for the night.” Virgil said with a grin, before laughing softly as Remy bounced up and down from excitement.

The two of them quickly finished the trek up to Virgil room, and quietly opened the door, peeking inside.

Virgil smiled softly as he quietly stepped inside the room, closing the door behind him as he looked at the bed.

Roman, Logan and Patton were all laying on his bed, Logan laying on top of Roman, and Patton snuggled up to Romans side while also holding one of Logan’s hands, all of them looking half asleep.

“Hi.” he said softly as he stepped farther into the room, causing all of their heads to snap up in surprise, before smiles broke out.

“Virgil!” Patton whisper yelled, scrabbling out of bed and rushing over to him, wrapping his arms around him in a bone crushing hug. “We missed you so much!” He said at a slightly louder level, not yelling but not whispering either.

“I missed you guys too,” Virgil said with a grin as he felt another pair of arms wrap around him from behind, and a face press against the crook of his neck.

“You’re not allowed to leave for that long ever again.” Roman muttered as he nuzzled against Virgil’s neck.

“Well, I’m sorry to say princy, but I’m gunna have to leave for some even longer trips eventually.” He said. “Not anytime soon, but I could be gone for up to two weeks on some trips.” He said.

Roman whined and tightened his grip around Virgil’s waist. “Noooooo.” He said softly, making Virgil laugh.

“Now come on, I’m sure I don’t smell very good after sitting in a stuffy carriage for several hours and not showering in a few days.” He said, “I need to go take a bath.”

“I don’t care,” Patton mumbled as he snuggled closer to him. “Just wanna hold you.”

“Oh I’m sure me being gone for a few days wasn’t that bad.” Virgil said with a blush. “You still had each other.”

“ I know, but it it’s not the same without you,” Patton said.

“We did cuddle and spend basically all of our time together though.” Logan added.

“And we may or may not have slept in your room while you were gone cause we missed you, sorry.” Roman said with a sheepish smile.

“No no its fine,” Virgil said, his blush darkening, “I don’t mind, so don’t apologize.” He added.

“Now, I really do need to go take a bath, but if you want you guys can sit in the washroom with me if you really can’t bear the thought of being apart now that I’m back.” He said softly, a teasing smile on his face as he said the last part.

“If you’re okay with us being in there with you, then yes please.” Patton said.

“Of course, I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t.” Virgil said.

Patton and Roman reluctantly let go, and Virgil only managed a single step before Logan pulled him into a quick hug of his own, before actually letting him go.

He laughed softly as he grabbed a set of pajamas and went into the washroom, where a piping hot bath waited for him, with lots of honey and vanilla scented bubbles floating on the surface.

He quickly undressed, putting his clothes in a hamper to be washed, and slipped into the tub, humming softly as the warm water.

Roman, Logan and Patton each made themselves comfortable in the space around him, all of them sitting within arms reach of him outside the tub.

After scrubbing his body clean he decided to just relax in the water, leaning on the edge of the tub as he chattered with the other three, gently holding Logan’s hand as they all talked.

Remy had even found a perch on the towel rack, content to sit there and doze off as the four of them talked.

Virgil eventually got out of the bath, and quickly dried off before putting on his pajamas and making his way back into the bedroom with them.

Roman went around turning off all the lights as Logan, Patton and Virgil got comfortable on the bed, Patton pressing sweet kisses against every inch of Virgil’s skin that he could reach as he held Virgil close. Logan was on the other side of Virgil, pressing occasional gentle kisses to Virgil’s neck, not enough to leave marks, but enough for the two of them to make Virgil blush brightly and smile, having missed them all while he was away.

Roman crawled into bed when all the lights were out, curling up on the other side of Patton. He draped an arm across him and held Logan’s hand while also tucking his other arm under both Patton and Virgil’s heads, there he tangled his fingers in Virgil’s hair, gently massaging his scalp.

Remy had joined them in the room as well, perching on the headboard of the bed, where he eventually dozed off.

In didn’t take long for the four of them to fall asleep as well, content to be curled up around each other as close as they could get, relaxing and drifting off to sleep within minutes of laying down, happy to have each other all there and close.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun note: all the food I used in chapters 25 parts 1-4 are actual dishes that have names and everything, and I really want to eat them


	32. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Patton, Logan, Roman kidnapped, Virgil rescues them, parents see he need no sword just a frying pan."
> 
> Note: there is some hecking violence and talk of whippings, so if you're not comfortable with that I apologize.

"Okay Thomas, you're my back up," Virgil said as he slid off of the horses back, "and Remy, you're look out, tell me if you see anyone coming." He said, earning a caw and a nod from the raven, who quickly took off.

Virgil watched as Thomas quietly got into position, before moving towards one of the small windows of the building that was level with the ground, probably looking into the basement.

A few days ago someone had attempted to kidnap Virgil, but had ended up taking Roman, Logan and Parton instead, since the three of them had spotted the kidnapper before he got to where Virgil was.

His parents had sent out guards to get them back, but received a note that if any guards came within a certain amount of feet of their base they'd kill one of the hostages, and the only way they'd return them was if they traded them for Virgil.  
Virgil ended up having parents call them off and bring the guards back, not wanting to risk anything happening to the other three.

They had decided to come up with a better plan before making any more attempts, but Virgil didn't want to wait. The others could be hurt or worse and it was all his fault and all anyone was doin was just sitting there.

So he took things into his own hands, and with the help of Thomas and Remy, had finally managed to sneak out and get to the base.

Virgil had a plan, albeit a very bad one, but it was the best he had at the current moment.

He kneeled down in front of the window, pulling his scarf up over his nose and his hood down over his eyes as he carefully tested the window to see if it was locked.

He couldn't be seen as the prince or as a guard, so he'd managed to gather up a decent disguise. He wore a pair of skin tight but flexible black pants that were tucked into a pair of ankle/foot wraps that he wore instead of shoes, and had a black long sleeve shirt with a turtle neck, topped with a large scarf he used to cover the bottom half of his face, and a cloak with a good he used to cover the rest of him. He also has a belt with a thick cast-iron frying pan strapped to his hip.

The window easily gave way and Virgil sighed in relief, before quickly glancing around for any of the thugs on patrol.

The coast was clear, so he pushed the small window all the way open and carefully slipped inside, dropping to the floor and landing on his feet feet with a soft thud.

He quickly ducked into the shadows before looking around, taking in his surroundings.

He appeared to be in the basement, like he had guessed. There was a hallway off to the side where he could hear muffled, yet angry, voices.

That's probably where he needed to go.

He carefully crept along the shadows, slipping into the cold and dank hallway, listening as the voices grew louder.

"You'd better get your filthy hands off of him before I make you!" A very familiar voice snarled, surprising Virgil since he didn't expect so much anger from him.

"Oh yeah? I'd like to see you try," another much deeper and unfamiliar voice said tauntingly.

"Just you wait you son of a- hymmm!!" the voice, Logan, was abruptly cut off, followed by a set of muffled angry mumbles and a set of concerned mumbles that sounded unsettlingly like Patton, along with the clinking of chains.

"That'll shut him up," a new voice said.

"Now, time for some fun."

Virgil slipped out of the hallway and into the room as quietly as he could, staying in the shadows and behind a stack of crates.

He peaked around the edge of one of the boxes and felt anger bubble up inside of him.

Logan and Patton were each chained to separate walls in the corner of the room, close enough to where they could almost touch, had their hands not have been shackled above their heads or their ankles shackled together and to the wall.

They each had a filthy rag stuffed into their mouths that was held there by a rough looking piece of rope that dug into their cheeks due to how tight they were tied.

Both bore several dark bruises, and Logan had a busted lip, but neither of them were too bad.   
But, neither had their glasses.

Roman on the other hand lay limp and unconscious, bound by rough looking ropes in the lap of one of their captors, a gag stuffed into his mouth like the others.

He was in worse shape though, with far more bruises, one looking like the shape of a hand around his throat, and a couple of cuts on him as well, but none looked like they were still bleeding.

On top of that, the thug that was holding him in his lap was beginning to unbutton his shirt, which earned more muffled and furious protests from Logan and Patton, the two of them looking ready to murder the man, especially Logan.

"Go grab one of the whips, this one was asking for it." The thug holding Roman said. "I want to teach him a lesson for biting me."

Virgil watched as the other thug in the room, a large muscular guy with dark black hair and a scar running across his mouth, made his way towards were virgil was hiding, towards a weapons rack that was next to him.

Virgil unhooked his frying pan from his belt and took a few steps back, holding it up and at the ready as he watch the guy walk over and pick up a nasty looking whip from the rack.

Virgil waited only a second longer before swinging the pan down as hard as he could on the back of the mans head, causing the man to grunt before collapsing to the ground with a thud.

Unfortunately the sound of the hardy metal hitting the mans head, along with the sound of the man collapsing to the ground, alerted the other thug that something was up.

"Ax? You better not have knocked over any of our goods." The thug said as he unceremoniously dumped the still unconscious and now shirtless Roman onto the ground at his feet before he stood up.

He kicked Roman out of his way, gaining a few angered and muffled cries from Logan and Patton, before walking towards where his accomplice had gone.

Virgil ducked back into the shadows, but the man was looking for something this time, and quickly spotted Virgil.

"What the fu-" the man was quickly cut of by Virgil leaping forward and smacking his frying pan against the side of his face, the man stepping back just far enough to where it badly clipped the edge of his jaw, busting the skin there and causing it to bleed a little.

The man quickly recovered though, and grabbed Virgil by the wrists while he was still in the after-swing, throwing him across the room and into a pile of wooden crates, where he landed with a crash and a grunt, knowing he'd have bruises from that.

He glanced over, and saw Patton and Logan staring at him in surprise, though he didn't know if they realized it was him yet, since his face was still covered.

The man came charging over and Virgil scrambled out of the way just in time so that he didn't get hit again, and ducked as the thug swung around in an attempt to punch him.

Virgil scrambled a little bit farther away but only managed to get his leg grabbed by the thug, who threw him again, this time into the brick wall, knocking the wind out of Virgil and bruising his back even more.

He slumped to the ground coughing, but was quickly cut off as the man grabbed around his throat and began to choke him, lifting him up and pinning him to the wall.

Virgils legs flailed, kicking at the man as he clawed at the his hand, his face going red as he struggled to get any air in.  
He soon realized he couldn't get the man to let go, and only managed to get the man to tighten his grip, causing Virgil to silently cry out.  
He'd just have to roll with it.

"I don't know who sent you," the thug said, before pulling Virgil closer to his face, ignoring his choking and weakening efforts to break free, "but if they really thought a weakling like you could take me in then they are sorely mistaken." The man said before he smashed virgils head back against the stone wall with a loud crack before dropping him.

Virgil's vision went white and he crumpled to the floor, coughing and gasping violently as he man let his neck go, his ears ringing painfully as his head throbbed, feeling like someone was hitting his head with a hammer.

The man kicked Virgil in the stomach, making him groan and curl up a bit, his body trying to protect itself.

He scoffed and turned around, looking back at Logan and Patton.

"Looks like your rescue failed." He said with a grin, "now, back to where we were I suppose." He said, walking over to where Roman was still collapsed on the ground.

Virgil forced his eyes open, staring up at the man with blurry spinning vision as he walked away.

He shoved the pain away and weakly yet quietly sat up, biting his lip so that he didn't make any sound as he stood up, stumbling a little bit, and began to slowly sneak up on the man as he kneeled over Roman.

He managed to get behind him and smack him with the frying pan as hard as he could to the back of his head, wincing at the heavy thud that sounded as the man collapsed on his side.

Panting heavily Virgil dropped his frying pan, not bothering to rehook it to his belt, and moved to kneel next to Patton and Logan before throwing the his hood of his cloak off and tearing the scarf away from his face.

He quickly undid the gags in their mouths, ignoring their shocked expressions, throwing the ropes and disgusting rags across the room.

"Virgil! What are you doing here! If they find you-" Patton was cut off by Virgil pulling him into a bone crushing hug despite the chains that bound him to the wall and despite how his body screamed in pain at the action.

"Oh my gosh you won't believe how worried I was," he said as relieved tears welled up in his eyes, "we couldn't find you for hours and I-I was panicking so much, and then they sent a note saying the only way to get you back was to trade you for me instead, but but but my parents wouldn't allow that so they sent some guards in, but they said they'd k-kill you if they didn't call them off, s-so we had to call the guards back, and then they weren't doing anything to actually save you and and I couldn't take it anymore so I had to come g-get you myself, I was so scared that they'd hurt you guys or worse and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I'd let it happen, a-and and I- and I-" Virgil was cut off by Patton gently shushing him, wishing he could hug Virgil back, but settled for nuzzling against his neck, being wary of the bruising there.

"Hey, Virgil, sweetheart, I need you to breath with me okay? match my breathing." Patton said as he began to take large steady breaths, waiting for Virgil to copy him with more shuddery and quick breaths. He didn't want Virgil to go into a full blown attack right now.

He continued to breath with him until Virgil had managed to calm down enough to breath properly and stop crying.

"There we are," Patton said softly, before pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek.

"I'm sorry we worried you darling, but we'd rather it be us here like this than you, so don't you dare start feeling guilty." Patron said.

"B-but, they were after me and they hurt you guys." Virgil said with a sniff.

"They hurt you to." Patton said with a frown.

"And we can deal with a few bruises," logan said softly, "who knows what they would have done with you, if they'd know you were you just now, seeing as you were their actual target," he added, "I'm sure I can speak for Patton, Roman and myself when I say that I'm glad it was us and not you."

"Roman." Virgil said softly, before jerking his head around to look at the still unconscious Roman collapsed and bound on the floor in a heap.

He quickly let go of Patton and moved to kneel next to roman, his hands shaking.

He let out a shaky breath as he carefully lifted him up and cradled him against his chest, being as careful as he could so he didn't hurt him anymore than he already was.

"They didn't like how he talked so much," Patton said sadly as he looked over at them, "he'd fight with them, anger them, and try and break free, so they punished him for it." He added.

Virgil frowned and took of Romans gag like he had Patton and Logan's, being extra careful, before gently stroking Romans cheek, listening to his soft almost inaudible breathing.

"I'm getting you guys out," Virgil said, pressing a feather light kiss to Romans temple before gently laying him back down on the ground.

"Any idea where the keys are?" He asked.

"I last saw them being put in the thugs coat that you just knocked out." Logan said, tilting his head in the direction of the collapsed man.

Virgil nodded, and went over to the man.  
He quickly rolled him over, struggling a little bit because of his dead weight and Virgil's aching body, but eventually got him on his back.

He dug around in the mans coat, finding the keys along with Logan and Patton's glasses.

He quickly and gently unlocked all their cuffs, being extra gentle with Roman.

Then Logan and Patton helped Virgil put the cuffs on the two thugs so that if they woke up they wouldn't be able to come after them or easily call for back up.

"There are more men in the building, so it's going to be difficult to sneak out," Logan said as he finished locking the second thug up.

"We can go out through the window I came in, I have Thomas as back up and Remy on lookout outside." Virgil said.

"Alright, we'll need to be careful though." Logan said as he knelt down and picked up Roman bridal style, cradling him as he held him close. They'd managed to get his shirt back on him, and had checked for any major damage, and were glad that the worst they'd found where a couple of cuts and a small gash on the side of his head, all of which had already stopped bleeding. Then of course he was still covered in bruises.

They'd also checked Virgil for anything major, and aside from lots of heavy bruising basically everywhere, a sore throat and a possible concussion, he wasn't doing to bad.

They quietly exited the room, Virgil in front, then Logan carrying Roman, and then Patton.

Virgil lead them down the hallway and into the room that had the window, which was still open.

They got one of the crates and shoved it, as quietly as they could, underneath the window.

"Here, pass me Roman," Virgil said as he passed Patton his frying pan, "I'll hold him while you climb out, then I can lift him up to you to pull through." He said.

Logan nodded and gently passed Roman over to Virgil, who held Roman protectively against his chest, still being wary of his injuries though.

Logan got up on op of the crate and peaked outside the window, where he saw Remy perched in a tree, bobbing his head rhythmically.

"He's bobbing his head?" Logan said as he looked back down at Virgil.

"Means we're good to go." Virgil said with a small smile.

Logan nodded and lifted himself up on the ledge with a small grunt, pushing his chest and torso forwards and out the window, before crawling the rest of the way out.

He turned around and kneeled down, holding his hands through the window. "I'm ready when you are." He said.

"Come help me lift Roman up Pat." Virgil said as he carefully got up onto the crate, Patton quickly following him.

Working together they managed to lift Roman up and into Logan's hands, carefully pulling and sliding him through the window, all three of them wincing when he groaned.

"You next Pat." Virgil said as he kneeled down and threaded his hands together to give Patton a boost.

Patton hesitated at first, but reluctantly stepped onto Virgil's hands, and with his help, pulled himself up to the windows ledge, carefully crawling out like Logan had.

Virgil followed after them, hoisting himself up and crawling out the window with the help of Patton.

Virgil stood up and dusted himself off.

"Okay, Thomas should be around here, let's go hide in the woods while we wait for him." He said, quickly glancing around for any thugs before leading them into the woods, remy following close behind.

They stayed silent as they walked, not wanting to get caught, the only sounds being Romans occasional whimpers if he got jostled suddenly.  
Virgil wish he still had his hair so that he could heal all of them, he hated seeing them hurt like this, and without his hair they be stuck healing for a while, and he didn't want them to deal with that.

They eventually ran into Thomas, who got excited when he saw them, but then concerned when he noticed the unconscious Roman in Logan's arms and everyone's bruised up state.

"Hey Thomas," Virgil said with a relieved smile. "Mind carrying at least two of these guys?" He asked.

Thomas got a determined expression on his face and nodded, quickly leaning down so it would be easier for them to get on.

"Logan and Roman can go first, then pat and switch out with Logan after a big." Virgil said, "if that's okay with you guys." He added.

"That's fine with me, but what about you?" Patton asked with a frown.

"I'll be fine," Virgil said with a small wave of his hand. "You guys are in worse shape than I am, probably more tired too."

Patton didn't say anything, just bit his lip looking uncertain.

They helped Logan and Roman get on the horse, positioning Roman so that he was sitting in front of Logan, who had his arms wrapped around Logan's waist as the other male leaned back against him.

"Okay, let's go." Virgil said, and they began walking back towards corona, Remy perching on his shoulder as they began to walk.

Things stayed silent for a while as they walked, that is until Roman woke up.

Virgil heard a soft groan from next to him, and looked up at where Roman and Now Patton were, him and Logan have switched places after a little over an hour of walking.

"Ro?" Patton said softly as he reached up and gently brushed some hair out of Romans face.

Roman groaned again, before his eyes sluggishly slipped open.

"Hmmmm pat?" He mumbled, still kind of out of it.

"Hello sweetheart." Patton said with a bright smile as he pressed a kiss to Romans cheek from his seat behind him.

"Wha happened?" He asked as he reached up to rub his face, "wheres Logan?" He asked as he sleepily turned his head to look for him.

"I'm right here." Logan said as he reached up and gently took Romans hand.

Roman smiled, "oh, good." He mumbled.

"You got knocked out Ro, they were gunna hurt you really bad." Patton said softly.

"Don't feel real hurt." Roman mumbled.

"That's because Virgil came in and saved us before they could hurt you real bad." Patton said with a small smile.

"Virgil?" Roman said, sounding suspicious. "No, Virgil is safe at the castle." He mumbled. " was someone else."

Virgil chuckled softly, "sorry to break it to you princy, but I'm here." He said as he gently took Romans other hand.

Roman looked confused for a second before looking down at Virgil.

"Virgil?" He said in confused, "what are you doing here." He said, waking up a bit more.

"I came to rescue you guys, and I did." He said.

"Did you get hurt?" Roman asked.

“No I’m fine,” he said, ignoring the looks Patton and Logan sent him.

“Good.” Roman said, before leaning back against Patton, still holding Virgil and Logan’s hands.

“We’re almost back to the Kingdom, the bridge shouldn’t be to far from here.” Logan said.

“That’s good,” Virgil said.

“Do you want to take a turn up there were Roman?” Logan asked, looking over at Virgil.

“No, you and pat need more rest then I do.” Virgil said.

Patton frowned at that, and leaned down to whisper something in Romans ear.

A smile found its way to Romans face.

“Virge,” Roman said, looking over at Virgil.

“Yes Roman?” Virgil asked.

“I want you up here.” He mumbled sleepily, “wanna cuddle.” He added.

“We can cuddle later when we’re back in my room,” Virgil said, “and you need to stay awake now anyway.” Virgil added.

“I’ll stay awake, I promise,” Roman said, as he moved and reached down towards him, “please?” He asked.

Virgil bit his lip, “I don’t know...” he said. He really wanted Patton and Logan to rest up, but he also didn’t want to upset Roman.

“If you don’t come up here and cuddle me right now I will get off of this horse and walk.” Roman said.

“You’d collapse before you even took one step.” Virgil said with a raised eyebrow.

Roman pouted. “Please love? For me? I’ve missed you a bunch these past few days, and want to cuddle.” He said. He didn’t mind cuddling with pat, but that was besides the point.

Virgil sighed, “I suppose...” he said, “but only until we reach the bridge.” He added.

Roman beamed and Thomas stopped, letting Patton and Virgil switch places before beginning to walk again.

Virgil wrapped his arms around Roman and rested his chin on his shoulder as they grew closer to corona, letting himself relax and snuggle with Roman as best he could with how they were sitting.

Roman, happy that he’d gotten Roman to get on the horse, leaned back against Virgil, humming softly as he closed his eyes.

“No sleeping.” Virgil said to him, despite Virgil’s eyes closing as well.

“I’m not sleeping, I’m just getting comfortable.” Roman said.

“You can sleep though Virgil,” Patton said from where he walked next to them, “both Logan and I took naps while we were up there.” He said.

“Nah, I’ll be fine.” Virgil said as he forced his eyes open.

They continued on their way and eventually made it to the bridge, where Virgil had them stop so he could get down.

“I wonder,” Virgil mumbled to himself.

“Thomas, do you think you could carry three people?” Virgil asked, gaining a nod from the horse.

“Okay,” he said as he slipped off of him, “how about both of you guys ride up there with Roman now?” Virgil said.

“You weren’t up there for very long,” Patton said, “you can stay up there longer if you want.”

“No I’m fine, don’t worry.” Virgil said, “I want you guys to rest up though.”

Patton and Logan reluctantly agreed and go onto Thomas’s back before making their way across the bridge, Virgil walking along next to them.

A guard spotted them the moment they stepped of the bridge, and quickly sent his partner up to the castle to tell the king and queen and a get a doctor ready for them, while staying to escort them to the castle himself.

They were quickly whisked away when they got to the castle, each brought into separate rooms to get looked over and patched up.

Virgil’s parents say in the room Virgil was in as he was getting patched up, where he told them what he’d done and what exactly had happened. They told him they were upset that he’d left without saying anything, but did admit that he did a good thing in going to get his friends.

The four of them were told to take it easy for the next week, to get lots of sleep and not do anything strenuous. They were also told that if anything seemed to get worse hen to come to them right away.

Roman had a bandage on his head where the gash was and a few on his arms and torso from the small cuts, along with a bit of ointment on his bruises, which Patton, Logan and Virgil all also had on their bruises as well. Virgil also had a small bandage on his head from where he’d been hit in the wall. He didn’t have a concussion, but he’d be having headaches and migraines for a few days.

They had been fed and watered before being sent off to rest, with Roman, Patton and Logan sneaking into Virgil’s room.

They all curled up on his bed, pressed as close together as they could while still being comfortable.

“I’m glad you guys are safe,” Virgil mumbled softly as he nuzzled his face against Romans neck, cuddling closer to him.

“We’re glad you’re safe as well,” Patton said.

“I love you.” Virgil mumbled as he began to doze off.

“Love you to.” Roman said, placing a kiss on top of Virgil’s head.

“I love you guys.” Patton said.

“Me as well,” Logan said softly, pressing a kiss to the back of Virgil’s neck.

They all quickly fell asleep after that, and were left undisturbed for many hours as they rested, taking comfort in each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ta da.  
Sorry for the ending, it was a little rushed in my opinion.


	33. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Virgil's sword teacher hears about the frying pan, he challenges Virgil to fight against him with a frying pan while teacher has a sword. If Virgil wins, the teacher will go easier on him. If the teacher wins, Virgil has to train with the frying pan and the sword."
> 
> Hope yalls are ready for another shitty fight scene.  
I'm surprised Virgil's parents are allowing this, but eh, Virgil technically agreed to it, not much they can do now.
> 
> I tried to find the person who made this request so I could ask them if they wanted Virgil to win or lose, but I literally couldn't find this comment anywhere, sorry.
> 
> Anyway  
This one is coming to be on the shorter side.  
Here we go!

Virgil finished getting dressed into his training clothes, a pair of thin breathable pants that allowed plenty of movement, and a thin yet snug tank top.

He quickly headed towards the training grounds, grabbing his wooden sword when he reached the armory right next to the grounds.

His instructor, Argon, was waiting for him out on the dusty field, his hands on his hips and his usual scowl.

He had tanned skin and a muscular body, along with dark brown hair and a thick mustache to match, a couple of gray hairs in there as well.

"You're late," He said.

"Just by a minute." Virgil said sheepishly.

"A minute you could have spent training," he said as he crossed his arms, looking unimpressed. "I want you to do push-ups until I tell you to stop, now drop." He said.

Virgil sighed, but quickly did as told, putting his wooden sword down before dropping to the ground and starting his push-ups.

The push-ups went on for several minutes, with Virgil getting small breaks in between sets of twenty or more.

After that he ran laps around the area, with his instructor running backwards in front of him, telling him to change his posture and to remember to breath while running instead of holding his breath for short periods of time.

After that it was actual drills, testing sword techniques and aiming attacks at a dummy, with his instructor telling him his feet were either too far apart or too close together, or that he needed to raise his arms more but also tilt his sword so he could defend himself easily if needed.

After the drills he was allowed a break to drink water and catch his breath, then they went onto hand to hand combat, which Virgil wasn't all that great at. He always defended and blocked instead of attacked, even when he had perfect intentional openings. Which in turn had his instructor trying to get him to stop blocking everything and attack at some point, other wise he'd tire out quickly and his opponent would be able to get the better of him.

Training was done after that, and Virgil was left with legs and arms that felt like noodles, blisters on his feet and hands, and several small bruises from getting taken down during hand to hand combat.

"So," Argon began as he chucked a rag at Virgil, "pretty impressive how you managed to rescue your three friends all on your own a few weeks ago." He said. "Although, you did get pretty banged up in the process."

"Um, yeah I guess." Virgil said as he painted softly, wiping the sweat off of his face.

"And you said you used a frying pan as a weapon?" He asked, gaining a not from Virgil, "hmm..."

"Well," argon began, "if that's the case then I challenge you to a dual." He said, placing his hands in his hips.

"Wait, you challenge me to a what?" Virgil asked as he looked up at him in surprise.

"A dual," Argon said, "I will use a sword, and you will use a frying pan." He continued. "If I win, I get to extend your training for another hour so that you can train with a frying pan as well, if you win I'll cut a half hour off of your training." He said.

"That doesn't seem very equal," Virgil said as he stood up, dusting himself off. 

"I'll go as far as fourth minutes off, but that's the best your getting." Argon said. I'll meet you here tomorrow an hour after lunch, we'll skip training tomorrow since this'll be enough." He said as he began to walk away.

"And I won't go easy on you, this'll be a real fight, not a training one. There won't be any spectators or anything, just you and me." He added, before heading inside the armory with both Virgil and his swords, leaving Virgil to stand there dumb struck.

———

"What am I gunna do." Virgil said as he sunk deeper into his bath.

"Not much you can do except fight him and hope you win." Roman said from his spot next to the tub, absentmindedly popping the bubbles that floated on the waters surface.

"Yeah, like I'll beat a skilled warrior with only myself and a frying pan." Virgil said as he cover his face with his hands and groaned.

"You could study up on some techniques he uses," Logan said, "figure out their weaknesses."

"Pointless studying because my brain is stupid and I will forget right before the dual." Virgil said.

"I will physically fight you." Patton said from where he sat in Logan lap.

"Please do, then I can get hurt and skip the dual tomorrow."

"Patton can't even crush a spider, which he hates, how do you think he'll manage to hurt you enough for you to postpone your fight?" Roman asked with a laugh.

"I'll talk bad about myself until we've reached that point." Virgil said with a small chuckle.

"Don't you dare." Patton said.

"Don't worry I won't," Virgil said, "yet." He added, earning a pout and a glare from Patton.

"If you weren't in that bathtub I'd have tackled you with a hug right now." He mumbled.

"Don't worry, you can do that when he's done." Roman said. "Tackle him on to the bed though, much comfier to land on and makes going to bed easier." He added.

"I can't sleep though, I need to figure out how I'm not going to die tomorrow." He said.

"You won't die," Logan said, "if he killed you it'd be considered treason." He said.

"Hypothetical death."

"Enough talk about death," Patton said, "finish up so I can cuddle all the negativity and anxiousness out of you." He said.

"Will do," Virgil said, giving him a thumbs up.

He did get out after a few minutes, quickly drying off and getting dressed before making his way back into the actual bedroom with them.

He shouldn't have been surprised when Patton actually did end up tackling him on to the bed, wrapping around him and snuggling close, which made virgil laugh and smile slightly despite his anxiety.

The other two quickly turned the lights out and crawled into bed on either side of Patton and Virgil, pulling the covers over them all and snuggling close.

"Don't worry," Patton mumbled as they all began to drift off, "you'll be fine, you'll see." He said with a small yawn.

———

"Oh gosh I'm gunna die." Virgil mumbled as he paced back and forth in the armory, already dressed in his training outfit with his sturdy frying pan clutched tightly in his hands.

Patton, Logan and Roman had wanted to come, but Argon had said just the two of them, so they couldn't come with him as support, which he really wanted right then.

He'd cuddled with each of them for an extended period of time already that day, and each had tried to comfort him in their own ways, but nothing had helped get rid of his ever growing anxiety that grew stronger still with every passing second.

"Virgil," Argon called from where he was out in the training yard, "it's time." He said.

"Time to die." Virgil mumbled softly, taking a shaky breath before stepping out of the armory and onto the training grounds.

Argon stood a few yards away from him, his arms crossed and a smirk on his face.

"Are you ready?" Argon asked as he drew his sword.

"I guess..." Virgil said as he shifted slightly.

"Okay, rules," Argon began, "no knocking out and no serious injuries, you win by either disarming and pinning the other person, or the other person surrenders." He said. "You got that?"

Virgil gulped and nodded.

"Alright," Argon said as he got into a stance, a smirk on his face. "let's begin."

The two of them circled each other for a bit, slowly moving, making no sudden or suspicious movements.

Argon assumes Virgil wasn't going to attack him first, as he waited for Virgil to move his foot to take a step before lunging forward and swiping his sword towards Virgil's chest from over his shoulder, aiming to surprise Virgil by his brashness.

Virgil, just barely dodging the swipe, jerking to the side, swinging his frying pan up and blocking the sword like it had been a shield, a sharp clang of steel hitting steel resounding across the grounds.

Argon didn't pause though, drawing back his sword before aiming for the hand Virgil held the frying pan in, managing to nick his forearm as Virgil swung his frying pan up and back down at an angle, forcing argons sword to the side with another shape clang.

They continued on for a while, dodging back and forth, Argon attacking, Virgil defending with the occasional offensive swing, dodging around and storing up the dust around them, both of them beaded with sweat.

Virgil had a few bruises and a couple of small cuts here and there, most on his arms but a small one on his side, where as Argon had a bruised right hand and left shoulder. Virgil had landed a solid hit on Argons sword-hand with the flat part of the frying pan, so now he as fighting with his non dominant hand, which only gave Virgil a slight advantage.

“If I win you’re going to learn how to fight ambidextrously,” Argon said as he sent another swing towards virgil, who blocked it with a small grunt, not saying anything in return.

The continued to go back and forth, and Virgil was getting tired. His arms hurt and he was panting softly. He’d only landed a couple of hits on Argon and he had been holding back when he did. Argon on the other hand wasn’t holding back at all, lunging forwards and attacking Virgil like he was an actual threat.

If Virgil wanted to win this he’d need to either get that sword out of Argons hands or pin the guy, neither of which were easy feats.

Argon lunged forwards again, but not with his sword this time, he grabbed onto Virgil’s shoulders and pushed him to the ground, trying to pin him.

Virgil instinctively pushed up with his knees, and the momentum from the force of being pushed down sent him rolling backwards, resulting in him flipping them both over. He was now straddling Argons torso, and seeing his chance, quickly shoved his frying pan into position under Argons chin, where had this been a real fight, Virgil would have been crushing his windpipe.

Argon grinned up at him, before dropping his sword and holding his hands up in surrender.

“Good job kid.” He said with a grin.

Virgil, still panting heavily, moved his frying pan away and got off of him, moving to lay down on his back as he tried to catch his breath.

“You let me win that.” He muttered, rubbing some of the sweat off of his face.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Argon said as he got up and dusted himself off.

“You’re pretty good with that frying pan,” he admitted, “maybe we could work on it after you e gotten better at sword fighting.” He said as he picked up his sword and sheathed it.

“No go clean up, I’m sure we both smell awful and you need to get some of those cuts bandaged.” He said, before turning and walking into the armory, leaving Virgil to stare after him.

———

One bath, visit to the physician, and dinner with his parents later, Virgil found himself tucked against Logan’s chest, both Patton and Roman already asleep on either side of them.

“Good job today,” Logan said, “I watched from a window.” He admitted.

“You watched?” Virgil asked with a blush.

“Yeah I did, and you did good, despite your anxieties towards it from before.” Logan said as he gently trailed his fingers up and down Virgil’s back.

“If you were watching then you’d have seen him let me win.” Virgil said.

“It wasn’t like he threw the fight,” Logan said, “you had both been fighting hard and were probably both tired, maybe you did get the better of him.”

“I doubt it,” Virgil said, “if all ended so suddenly, and he was barely panting where as I was gasping for breath and drenched in sweat.” He said.

“Who knows what he did and why he did it, you won and should be proud of yourself for how well of a fight you put up.” Logan said. “And if you say anything self deprecating I will wake up Patton and he will smother you.” He said.

“Such threats,” Virgil said with a yawn as he snuggled closer to him.

“Do not tempt me.” Logan said with a small chuckle as he held Virgil closer, the two of them drifting off.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ta-da  
Not my best work, since I suck at fight scenes, but eh.  
Here it is.  
It’s 2am right now and I could have finished this this afternoon but I’m a procrastinator.  
Next chapter will be out soon!  
Bye!


	34. Announcement for the masses

Okay, this is just a heads up, but I won't be updating this fic for a few more days because I'm working on an animation for corona virus awareness and prevention. This is gunna take a while, so that why I'm just letting you know ahead of time cause I feel bad not updating and now I feel a little less bad because I'm telling you ahead of time.

Anywho, that's all I wanted to say, stay safe, wash your hands, social distancing, do all the good stuff.


	35. Chapter 28 part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "What would Virgil do with Patton, and the same with Roman? At least, where it would be just them, not surrounded by a great deal of people." (Basically you know how Virgil went to the library with Logan? What special little thing would he do with just Roman and just Patton?)
> 
> This chapter will be for Roman
> 
> Ah yes, another multipart prompt. This one will only be two chapters though, unlike last time. There are more of these multipart chapters scheduled to happen later on too, so I hope you're ready.  
Also, sorry for not updating in forever, I promise to get back to my previous updating schedule thing.
> 
> Also, I wrote a hecking song for this particular chapter. I wrote it and it took me forever to come up with it all and it’s laaaaame as f******ck.  
It’s gunna be cringy, but hopefully it’s not too bad.  
I hope yalls like it.
> 
> Anyway, let’s start the chapter now.

Virgil slowly woke up to a pair of warm arms wrapped around him, which was both familiar yet strange. Usually if he woke up to someone holding him it'd be in the middle of the night or early morning when one or all of the others had to leave or else they'd get caught, with the few exceptions of times they didn't leave.

It appears as if now was one of those times.  
Although, he didn't remember going to bed with any of them the night before.

He hummed softly and rolled over in the persons arms so that he was facing them, and found a slowly waking up Roman.

He smiled brightly and snuggled up against Romans chest with a content sigh, his smile growing bigger when he felt Roman shift and hold him closer.

"Good morning," Roman mumbled with a small yawn.

"Morning," Virgil said as he pressed a kiss to Romans cheek, "why are you here?" He asked, "not that I'm complaining or anything." He added.

Roman laughed softly, "I was wondering if you wanted to go out with me today, and decided to start the day out with some sleepy cuddles." He said as he pressed a kiss to Virgil's temple.

"Sure, I'd love to go out with you pat," Virgil said with a smile and a small hum.  
"Where are the others?" He asked after a few beats of silence.

"Asleep in their own rooms or together maybe," Roman said softly,

"Logan wants to talk with a group of scholars visiting the kingdom this afternoon, and I think Patton was gunna go try out some new recipes." Roman added as he gently began to run his through through Virgil's hair.

Virgil nodded and closed his eyes as he hummed, still feeling rather sleepy.

"What do you want to do today?" He asked with a yawn.

"Well, I don't have any specifics," Roman began. "But I was thinking maybe a trip to one of the orchards at the edge of the kingdom." He said. "They look so pretty this time of year." Added.

"Of course, we can do something else if you don't want to do that." Roman quickly added.

"That sounds like fun," Virgil said as he pressed sweet feather light kisses to Romans neck, earning a few giggles in response.

Virgil smirked and moved his hands to Romans sides, gently digging his fingers into his ribs and wiggling them around.

Roman gasped softly and stiffened a little before squealing as a few giggles escaped him and he began to squirm away.

Virgil wasn't having that though, since he enjoyed hearing Roman, or any of his boyfriends, laugh, and quickly moved with Roman so he could continue to tickle him.

Roman continued to wiggle away though, and Virgil kept following, both of them inching closer to the edge of the bed. It was a few seconds later that they finally tumbled, crashing to the floor with two yelps.

"Sorry." Virgil said as he moved to get off of him, having landed on him when they fell.

"It's okay." Roman said as he sat up and rubbed the back of his head.

They got up off of the floor, dusting themselves off a bit before getting ready for the day, since they still needed to join Virgil's parents for breakfast and ask for permission to leave.

Th two of them quickly went down to breakfast after they'd gotten dressed, meeting up with Logan and Patton on their way down, exchanging a few small kisses when nobody was around.

They all sat down in the dining room as soon as breakfast was served, Virgil's parents already there.

"So," Virgil's father began after a few minutes of random small talk, "today's one of your free days Virgil, any plans?" He asked.

Virgil swallowed his bite of food as he nodded.

"Actually yeah," he said, "I was wondering if I would be allowed to go and hang out with Roman today?" He asked.

"Where at?" Virgil's mother asked.

"The orchards." Roman said with a hopeful smile before taking another bite of his food.

"I suppose that would be okay," His mother said with a smile, "just be back by seven." She added.

"We will." Virgil said with a smile, before turning to talk with Logan, Patton and Roman.

Breakfast continued on for roughly an hour, mostly because of them talking more than they were eating, but they eventually finished up and split up, Roman and Virgil heading out of the castle.

They didn't go straight to the orchards, since it was still morning and they had plenty of time, deciding to wander around the kingdom for a little bit.

"Do you want to pick up some snacks for while we're out there?" Virgil asked.

Roman shook his head, "nah, I don't think we'll need to." He said with a smile.

That was kinda confusing, but Virgil brushed it off with a nod as they continued to walk.

"How was your date with Logan the other day?" Virgil asked.

"It was fun," Roman said with a fond smile as he thought back to a few days ago.

"You two went to a small lake right?" Virgil asked.

Roman nodded, "we did," he said, "we had a good time." He added with a small wink, making Virgil blush as he thought about what Roman meant when he said fun.

They continued to make their way through town, stopping every now and then to poke around in a few interesting shops or stalls.

They also stopped for a few kisses, but always hid themselves away where nobody could see them when they did.

It wasn't until it was the afternoon that they began to head to the Orchards, which would be an hour or so walk away.

"So," Virgil began as they walked, the two of them holding hands now that they weren't in public, "what's the plan for today?" He asked.

"Well, I really have much planned, but we could explore the orchards for a bit, just relax and enjoy the peace and quiet.” Roman said as he glanced around at the trees around the path, “is there anything you’d like to do in particular?” He asked.

Virgil shook his head, “nah, I’m cool with whatever you wanna do.” He said.

The two of them continued their walk, quietly chatting, with a few bouts of comfortable silence between them as they made their way down the path.

They eventually stopped to take a break, after roughly forty minutes of walking.

“It’s really warm out,” Virgil said as he sat down against a tree, leaning back. It was close to the end of August, and it seemed as if summer was trying to roast them alive before the brisk winds of autumn came.

“It really is,” Roman said, “if it was a bit cooler I would suggested cuddling, but it’s a little too warm for that.” He said as he sat down next to Virgil.

“Yeah it is,” Virgil said as he gently reached over to hold Romans hand again, gently intertwining their fingers, “but I’m up for some cuddling later tonight.” He added as he closed his eyes contently.

Roman smiled and gently squeezed his hand. “I’d like that.” He said softly.

The two sat there for roughly ten minutes, catching their breath and cooling down, before getting back up again to continue their walk to the orchards.

They eventually made it there at round 2:30pm, or at least they assumed it was around 2:30pm, letting them have roughly three hours until they needed to head back.

“Come on, lets explore for a bit.” Roman said with a smile. “I don’t think you’ve ever been to the orchards,” he said, before pausing and looking over at him, “or have you?” He asked.

Virgil laughed softly as he smiled at him“No I haven’t,” He said as he shook his head, “I only know about it because we talked about it in one of my lessons.” He added.

“Then I will take it upon myself to show you all the best spots.” Roman said with a grin, before leading him off into the rows of fruit trees, all of them bending down towards the earth, their branches heavy with fruit almost ready for picking.

Roman led him through the rows of trees, the two of the walking slowly as they chattered and joked, still holding hands.

They stopped multiple times, either to just enjoy the scenery or to stop and take a break cause the heat was making them even more tired then they would have normally been.

It wasn’t until an hour or two later that Roman began to look a little nervous.

“You okay?” Virgil asked softly and he looked at him in concern.

Roman, who had been glancing around them quickly looked back to him and smiled reassuringly, “yeah I’m fine.” He said with a nod, “I just have one more place to show you.” He added.

Virgil slowly nodded as he accepted Romans answer, although still feeling like Roman wasn’t being completely honest.

“Okay,” he said, “but if anything’s wrong then please tell me.” He added.

“And I would tell you if there was something wrong, but there’s really not,” Roman said as he gently squeezed Virgil’s hand, “I promise.” He added.

Virgil hesitated, before nodding again as he squeezed Romans hand as well.

“Alright Princy, lead the way to your final spot.” He said with a smile.

Roman smiled back and pressed a kiss to his cheek before leading him towards the plum trees with dark purple leaves and the ripe dust purple fruit.

“I want you to close your eyes.” Roman said softly as he stopped walking.

“Um, why?” Virgil asked as he turned to him.

“It’s a surprise.” Roman said with a grin.

“A nice surprise or a mean surprise?” Virgil asked as he raised an eyebrow at him.

“Do you really think I’d ruin our lovely romantic mood with a mean surprise?” Roman asked with a pout, trying to look offended.

“You could be lulling me into a false sense of security...” Virgil said, almost teasingly.

“Oh I’d never do that to you love,” Roman said.

“But if it makes you feel better,” he continued as he gently cupped Virgil’s cheek in his hand. “I promise that the surprise I have for you is a good one, and if you don’t think it’s a good one then you have every right to ban me from cuddles for a while.” He said softly, his tone gentle and reassuring.

Virgil blushed and quickly nodded his head. “While I appreciate the promise I don’t think I’ll ban you from cuddles,” He said, “you’re too comfortable of a pillow for that.” He added with a smile.

Roman laughed softly and shook his head as he smiled. “Whatever you say love,” He said, “now close your eyes before I find something to blindfold you with.” He said.

Virgil rolled his eyes before doing as he was told and closing his eyes.

“You’d better not let me run into anything.” He said as the two of them began walking.

“I’ll make sure to keep you safe.” Roman said as he gently squeezed Virgil’s hand, making his blush darkened.

They walked for a few more minutes, with Roman guiding Virgil, before they stopped again.

“Okay, I’m going to let go of your hand and move away, but you can’t open your eyes yet.” Roman said.

“I swear Roman if you-”

“I promise I’ll be right here.” Roman cut him off, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “Just trust me.” He added softly.

Virgil hesitated slightly, before nodding. “Alright,” he said, “I trust you.”

Although he couldn’t see it, Roman smiled and slowly let go of his hand, leaving Virgil there while he quickly and quietly set a few things up, still talking to Virgil to reassure him that he was still there.

“Okay,” Roman said after a minute or so. “You can open your eyes.”

Virgil waited a second before slowly opening his eyes, looking ahead of him to where he’d heard Romans voice coming from.

There stood roman, underneath a large plum tree with a large quilt spread out on the grass next to him, a picnic basket on top of the blanket, along with several candles in small jars scattered around them.

“Oh Roman...” Virgil said softly as he slowly took a step forwards.

“Do you like it?” Roman asked, a hopeful smile on his face.

Virgil stepped towards him, “I love it.” He said as a loving smile spread out on his face. “Can I kiss you?” He asked.

Roman laughed softly and nodded, smiling brightly as Virgil took his face into his hands and pulled him down into a kiss.

They pulled away after a few seconds and Roman moved them to sit down on the blanket.

It was still very warm, so they didn’t cuddle, but they sat somewhat close to each other as Roman opened up the basket.

“So this is why you said we wouldn’t need to get anything while we were in town.” Virgil said as Roman began to pull some food and drinks out.

“Yup,” He said, “Logan and I set this up yesterday evening while you were with Patton in the gardens after dinner.” He said. “Then when we got back you were already asleep and I couldn’t resist cuddling with you.” He said sheepishly.

“Oh my gosh you guys are too sweet,” Virgil said as he smiled and laughed softly. “I’ll need to give Logan some appreciation kisses when we get back.” He added.

“Yeah, I’ll join you in that, He was a big help with setting this up.” Roman said.

The two ate for a while, still chattering, until it got to be around five thirty or so.

“We should probably start packing up.” Virgil said, “we need to leave soon if we want to be back by seven.”

“Wait,” Roman said, “I have one more surprise.”

“Another surprise?” Virgil asked, tilting his head curiously, “this wasn’t it?”

“No this wasn’t just it, I have one more thing for you, but I want you to close your eye again.” Roman said, looking nervous.

Virgil, still surprised that Roman had more planned, didn’t argue and closed his eyes, wondering what was going to happen.

He heard a bit of shifting of a few seconds before it went quiet again.

“You can open your eyes whenever you feel comfortable now,” Roman said softly.

Then Virgil heard the soft strum of a guitar.

“I remember, when we first met” Roman began to softly sing, his voice gentle and soothing.

Virgil slowly opened his eyes, and looked at Roman, seeing him sitting in front of him with a guitar in his lap and a piece of paper in front of him.

“I climbed so high,  
I was touching the sky.”

Roman continued to sing softly, keeping his eyes closed while he played.

“But before I could touch the light,  
You were standing there so bright.  
You took me out, and even to this day  
I was so lucky you didn’t hide away...”

“I’m lucky to have you in my arms to hold,  
I’m lucky you didn’t do as you were told,  
I’m lucky you’re letting me love you...”

“I’m lucky to have you in my arms to hold,  
I’m lucky you didn’t do as you were told,  
I’m lucky you’re letting me love you...”

Virgil felt something bubbling up inside of him, like when you feel butterflies in your stomach, but much stronger.

“You now have have everything you could ever want,  
And I’m so lucky that I’m a part of it.”

Roman has slowly opened his eyes by this point, staring down at the music in front of him, not meeting Virgil’s eyes as he focused on singing and playing the guitar.

“You could have left us all behind,  
You could have left us in the stumbling blind.”

Roman slowly lifted his gaze to look up at Virgil, who had tears gathering in the edges of his eyes.

“But here you are, standing there before me like the sun,  
And I can’t help feeling like I’ve somehow won...”

Virgil didn’t dare to move or make a sound, to lost in the fact that Roman was singing to him, that Roman had wrote a song for him.

“I’m lucky to have you in my arms to hold,  
I’m lucky you didn’t do as you were told,  
I’m lucky you’re letting me love you...”

“I’m lucky to have you in my arms to hold,  
I’m lucky you didn’t do as you were told,  
I’m lucky you’re letting me love you...”

Roman looked back down at the music, playing for a few seconds on the guitar without singing, but the guitar got much softer and his voice just barely louder than a whisper as he began to sing again.

“You’ll keeping shining brightly and more will come to you, more will start loving you.”

His breath hitches slightly as he took a small pause to breath before singing the next part, closing his eyes again.

“And if by then I’m gone and have left you all behind,   
Don’t be sad,   
here’s something to remind you....”

“I’m lucky to have you in my arms to hold,  
I’m lucky you didn’t do as you were told,  
I’m lucky you’re letting me love you...”

He played a few soft notes on the guitar, before adding softly.

“Letting me love you.”

He played three more soft notes on the guitar before letting the sound slowly fade out.

He slowly opened his eyes and looked up at Virgil, surprised to find him with his hands covering his mouth as a few tears ran down his face.

He winced and quickly set the guitar aside as he hesitantly reached towards Virgil. “Oh gosh, I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have-” Roman was cut off by Virgil lunging forwards and wrapping his arms around Romans neck, a small hiccuping sob escaping from his throat as he knocked Roman down onto his back as he looked down at him, quickly shifting his position so that he had a leg on each side of Romans torso.

“Y-you, you wrote that for me?” Virgil asked, moving to cup Romans face.

Roman, still in shock by what Virgil did, only nodded, watching as another small sob bubbles up out of Virgil’s throat, along with a watery smile.

“C-can I kiss you?” He asked as he leaned down closer to him.

Roman couldn’t do anything but nod as he looked up at Virgil with wide eyes.

Virgil wasted no time, leaning down and pressing their lips together as he closed his eyes and kissed him lovingly, still cupping Romans face.

Roman quickly kissed him back as he wrapped his arms up and around Virgil’s shoulders, both of them ignoring the still very present August heat.

They continued the kiss for almost a minute, before Virgil pulled away.

“I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you,” Virgil began to press short but searing hot kisses to Romans lips, cheeks, temple, forehead, and neck, peppering the skin he could reach with kisses as he mumbled ‘I love you’ between each kiss, not giving Roman a chance to speak.

Eventually Virgil slowed down, stopping his kisses as he instead decided to press his face to Romans neck, pressing himself as close to the other male as he could.

“Did you...did you like it?” Roman asked softly as he gently rubbed Virgil’s back.

“I loved it.” Virgil said as he moved his head back and looked down at Roman, who grinned up at him.

“Oh thank goodness,” Roman said, “I was hoping you would.” He said as the two of them slowly sat up. Virgil not moving away from Romans lap though.

“How could I not?” Virgil asked, “you wrote me a song, and it was so freaking beautiful.”

“It wasn’t sappy?”

“Oh no it was very sappy,” Virgil said with a laugh as he wiped the tear stains from his cheeks, “but I still loved it.”

“Oh good,” Roman said. “I know Logan liked the song I made for him, but I wasn’t sure if you would.” He said, “and I haven’t quite finished Patton’s yet.” He added.

Virgil looked at him for a few seconds before shaking his head and pressing another kiss to Romans lips. “God you’re too perfect.” He mumbled as he pulled away, earning a laugh from Roman.

They stayed like that for a while, cuddling despite the still ever present heat, before they really did need to pack up and leave if they still wanted to be back before seven.

They reluctantly pulled apart and packed everything back into the basket, before making their way out of the orchards, holding hands again.

The trip back felt much shorter than the trip there had, and they soon found themselves back at the castle just in time for dinner. They lied to Virgil’s parents when they asked what they’d done at the Orchard, leaving out all the romantic stuff and adding in other activities.

Virgil was tired by the time he had bathed and dressed in his pajamas and was ready for bed, quickly crawling under the covers next to Roman and Patton, while Logan made sure to turn the lights off before crawling into beds as well.

“Did you two have fun?” Patton asked as he snuggled up against Romans side.

“We did,” Virgil said softly, smiling as Logan climbed into bed next to him and snuggled close.

“I love you all.” Roman hummed..

“Me as well.” Logan said.

“I love you guys too.” Patton agreed.

Virgil smiled, “I love you guys as well.” He said, before snuggling closer to Roman as he began to slowly drift off to sleep, the melody to Romans song playing softly in the back of his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, there was that.  
Hope yalls liked this chapter, hopefully it wasn’t too cringy and sappy.


	36. Chapter 28 part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "What would Virgil do with Patton, and the same with Roman? At least, where it would be just them, not surrounded by a great deal of people." (Basically you know how Virgil went to the library with Logan? What special little thing would he do with just Roman and just Patton?)
> 
> This chapter will be for Patton
> 
> So yeah, here's this chapter. I hope yalls are ready for some cute as heck stuff to happen. Maybe not as cute as writing a cringy love song, but still cute.  
I wrote more than half of this at 2am because o was suddenly struck with the urge and ability to actually write and finish it.  
Hopefully yalls like it, and hopefully it’s not super cringy or sappy or anything, and if it is then I apologize.  
Anyway, on with the chapter.

Virgil nuzzled against Pattons chest as he slowly began to doze off, smiling when he felt Romans arms snake around his waist.

"Stay with me tonight? Until morning at least?" He asked, hoping that the three of them would agree.

"I suppose we can, although we might need to leave early." Roman said, pressing a kiss to the back of Virgil's neck.

"Will you at least wake me up when you go?" Virgil asked. He didn't really like going to bed with them and then waking up all alone.

"We will." Logan said as he laid down on the other side of Roman, curling an arm under and around Romans waist while draping the other one across the three of them.

"Thank you." Virgil said as he snuggled closer to Patton, smiling softly.

The four of them soon dozed off, comfortably curled around each other.

-

Logan woke up first, as he usually did. The sun wasn't even up yet, but you could tell it would be up soon since it was slowly getting brighter outside.

He sat up and looked down at his three boyfriends who were all still asleep, looking relaxed and comfortable, and smiled fondly, reaching down to gently run a hand through Romans hair, his smiling growing slightly as Roman hummed softly and subconsciously leaned into the touch.

He reluctantly woke them up, feeling a bit bad since they were all sleeping soundly and had looked so cute.

"Do you really have to go now?" Virgil asked softly as he sat up and rubbed his eyes sleepily.

"Sadly we do, while its still dark out and no one can see us leave." Logan said softly as he gently brushed the hair out of Virgil's face and cupping his cheek as he pressed a kiss to his forehead.

"We'll see you at breakfast though," Patton said, "and remember, tomorrow's our date-day." He added as he pressed a kiss to Virgil's other cheek, making him smile and blush.

"I remember," Virgil said as he yawned softly, covering his mouth, "I still wish you could stay though." He added.

"We do too," Roman said as he smiled his arms around Virgil's waist and pulled him closer, "but we don't want to risk getting caught, I was taking a pretty big risk when I stayed last week." He added.

Virgil nodded, "You're right," he said, before tilting his head around to look at him, "goodbye kisses though?" He asked.

Roman smiled, "of course." He said, before cupping Virgil's cheek and turning his chin a bit before pulling him into a sweet and loving kiss, which Virgil happily reciprocated.

They slowly pulled apart, and smiled at each other before Virgil's cheeks were cupped in a pair of hands and his face was turned to Patton, who smiled at him brightly.

"My turn?" He asked.

Virgil smiled back at him, "yes your turn." He said, before being quickly swept up into a sugary sweet kiss.

It was quick but still nice, and Virgil pressed a second kiss to Patton's cheek as they pulled away.

Then Virgil moved over to Logan, cupping his cheek with one hand as he leaned forwards to kiss him, Logan happily kissing back.

They reluctantly pulled apart and the four of them crawled out of the bed, heading over to the window.

Roman slid it open, before turning back to Virgil, "we'll see you at breakfast." He said, before carefully stepping through the window.

"Try to get back to sleep, you'll be tired throughout the day if you stay up from this time." Logan said, before following Roman out.

Patton pressed another quick kiss to Virgil's cheek.

"I hope your ready for our date today," Patton said, "hopefully it's fun." He added.

"I'm sure it will be pat." Virgil said, before waving goodbye as Patton stepped through the window.

Virgil closed the window and went back over to his bed, flopping down with a sigh. The bed felt empty and kinda cold now, even though he had nice thick blankets.

He curled up, wrapping himself in the blankets as he got ready to go back to sleep.

He didn't fall asleep quickly though, and laid there quietly with his eye closed for almost twenty minutes before he actually managed to doze off, and by then it had gotten much brighter outside.

He was then woken up by a knock on his door what seemed to be a second later, but the bright sunlight streaming in through his window told him it had probably been several hours.

"Your highness, breakfast will be ready within the half hour." A voice called through.

"Alright, thank you." Virgil called back as he sat up and stretched.

He slipped out of bed and quickly went about getting dressed and cleaning up a bit, before heading down to the dining room.

On his way there though he was gently pulled into a side hallway and around a corner into some shadows.

Patton grinned at him as he gently wrapped his arms around Virgil.

Virgil, although still a little surprised, smiled back at him.

"Funny, usually it's Roman that does this." He said as he loosely wrapped his arms around Patton's neck.

"I know, but I decided I wanted to have a turn." Patton said as he shifted until Virgil's back was gently pressed against the wall.

"Just a few quick kisses?" Patton asked.

"Of course," Virgil said with a smile.

Patton smiled brightly before gently kissing him, pushing him against the wall a bit more.

Virgil happily kissed him back, humming softly as he moved one of his hands to gently tangle his fingers in Patton's hair.

Patton gently nibbled at Virgil's lower lip after a couple of seconds, not hard enough to leave any marks or anything, but enough to draw out a few more hums from Virgil.

He pulled away after a few more seconds, allowing them both to catch their breath before capturing him in another kiss.

Virgil hummed again as he kissed him back while gently pulling Patton's hair, not hard enough to hurt him though.

Patton began to gently trail his hands up and down Virgil's sides, smiling as he felt Virgil shiver slightly before leaning into the touches.

The two pulled away again after a few more seconds, and Patton quickly moved down to press kisses to Virgil's neck, making sure not to leave any marks.

Virgil was panting softly, leaning back against the wall as his grip on Patton's hair tightened.

"Geez pat," he muttered softly as Patton pulled away from his neck. "That was a bit more from you than usual." He added.

"I want to make up for us having to leave last night, and every other night," Patton said, "I feel kinda bad." He said.

"Aw don't feel bad pat," Virgil said as he cupped Patton's cheek, "you and I both know why you guys usually can't stay." He said as he pressed a kiss to Patton's forehead. "Now let's go down to breakfast, I'm sure they're waiting for us." He added.

Patton nodded and pressed one more quick peck to Virgil's lips before pulling all the way away.

The two of them quickly made their way down to the dining hall, where Virgil's father, Roman, and Logan were all seated. 

"Ah, just in time," His father said, "breakfast is about to be served." He said as Virgil and Patton took their seats.

"If you don't mind my asking your majesty, but where is Virgil's mother?" Logan asked.

"She's taking care of something's by the stables, she should be back soon though." The king said.

The food was than swiftly brought in and the five of them quickly dug in.

"Am I allowed to go out with Pat today?" Virgil asked after a few minutes.

"Sure, what were you boys planning on doing?" He asked before taking a sip of fruit juice.

"I was hoping we could go to the market and by some ingredients for some treats I want to show him how to make." Patton said with a bright smile.

The king smiled back at him, "that sounds like fun," he said, "hopefully the two of you have a good time." He added.

Breakfast was soon finished after that, and the all went their separate ways. Apparently the king was going to go meet up with the queen, and Logan and Roman were going to have a date for themselves as well, something about going out on a horse ride through the woods or something.

Patton and Virgil went to go make sure they'd have a spot in the kitchens to bake and such, and grabbed two woven baskets before heading out and down to the bustling market, with Virgil wearing a simple cloak and simple clothes to not draw too much attention to them.

"So what ingredients are we looking for pat?" Virgil asked as they walked into the market area.

" well we'll need powdered sugar, flour, a dozen or so eggs, cream of tartar, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, almond extract, salt, heavy cream, and a fruit or berry of your choice." Patton said, "but I checked and the kitchens and we already have plenty flour, sugar, and salt to use, so we don't need to buy those while we're out." He said.

"Why a fruit or berry of my choice?" Virgil asked.

"Cause silly, I want to make it with your favorite." Patton said with a bright smile, and if they weren't in public Virgil probably would have kissed him, or at least given him a kiss on the cheek.

"O-okay," Virgil said with a faint blush which he quickly hid under the hood of the cloak. "Um, how about strawberries?" He said.

Patton's smile only seemed to brighten, "good choice." He said, before leading Virgil towards a group of stalls.

They quickly went about gathering the ingredients, moving from stall to stall as they collected what they needed. Everything was fresh and looked delicious, especially the bright red strawberries Patton had put into one of their baskets.

It took a bit longer than expected, although neither of them minded in all honesty, and they eventually got everything they needed before beginning their trek back to the castle.

"So what are we making pat?" Virgil asked as the two of them walked, holding one of their two baskets.

"It's a surprise," Patton said, shifting his grip on the basket he was holding, "but I'm sure you'll like it." He added.

Virgil nodded, "I'm sure I will," he said.

The two of them quickly made their way into the kitchens when they got back. They'd missed lunch, but they'd gotten a snack while in the market so neither of them were hungry. But this also meant that the kitchens were empty, and would be for quite some time.

"Have you ever baked before Virgil?" Patton asked as the two of them set their baskets down on the empty counter.

"I have, I baked and cooked a lot when I was in the tower," he said, "it got really boring on some days." He added.

Patton nodded, and decided to quickly steer the conversation away from the tower and the memories that mentioning it brought up.

"You'll have to show me what you can bake sometime," patton said.

"Now, lets start with washing our hands," Patton said, "we don't want to contaminate anything with any germs and such." He added. "Then we can start gathering our supplies, we're going to need bowls, measuring spoons, and measuring cups, for both dry ingredients and wet ingredients." He said.

The two of them quickly went about gathering their supplies, finding everything they needed clean and ready to be used.

"Now we need to set up the oven," Patton said, "while I do that do you want to wash our strawberries so that they can be nice and dry by the time we need them?" He asked.

"Sure," Virgil said with a smile, before gathering their strawberries into a bowl and moving to wash them, while Patton went to go set up the oven.

After he'd set everything up Patton felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist and smiled as he leaned back against Virgil.

" want one?" Virgil said said he lift one hand that had a small freshly washed strawberry in it, holding it up to Patton's mouth.

Patton's smile brightened, "yes please." He said, before opening his mouth.

Virgil smiled and held him closer as he moved the strawberry so that Patton could take a bite.

Patton hummed softly as he bit the cool and sweet berry.

"Tastes delicious." He said after swallowing, before turning in Virgil's hold and smiling up at him. "I'm sure you'd like it." He added.

"I'm sure I would." Virgil said as he smiled back.

Patton gently pulled him into a sweet kiss, which lasted for a few seconds before they pulled apart and stepped away from each other.

They then started to mix everything together.

"So we need 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar and 1 cup flour in this bowl, and then 12 egg whites in this bowl along with 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar, which we need to beat until light and foamy, then we need to beat in 1 cup granulated sugar 2 tablespoons at a time, and then add 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon almond extract, and 1/4 teaspoon salt with the last two tablespoons of sugar." Patton said, "then we fold in the flour and powdered sugar 1/4 cup at a time, then put it in the pan and bake for roughly half an hour." Patton said.

"And after its baked we can get started on slicing the strawberries and making the whipped cream, which is 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar, 1 cup of heavy cream, and 1 or 2 tablespoons of vanilla extract." He added. "Sound good?" He asked.

Virgil nodded, "sounds good to me." He said, "and I have an idea as to what we're making now." He added with a grin.

"Oh really?" Patton asked, smiling back.

"Really." Virgil said with a nod.

"Well don't tell me," Patton said, "I want you to wait and see if your right." He added.

"If you say so." Virgil said with a small shrug.

The two of them then started to mix everything together like Patton had explained, mixing the flour and powdered sugar and setting it aside before beating the egg whites and cream of tartar before slowly adding in the sugar, vanilla, salt, and almond extract. After that they carefully folded in the flour and powdered sugar mix they'd set aside earlier, until it was all mixed and fluffy.

They had joked back and forth while getting everything ready and mixing it all together, while also giving little hugs and kisses every now and then as well.

Then they quickly greased a bundt cake pan with butter before carefully pouring in the batter, scraping in all the batter and avoiding forming any air bubbles before sliding the pan into the oven.

“So the cake will need roughly half an hour to bake, so now we can go have a snack while we wait.” Patton said, before he and Virgil went to go poke around the kitchen to see if there was anything they could munch on.

They eventually found some snacks to eat, and munched on them as they talked for roughly twenty five or so minutes.

"The cake as roughly five more minutes." Patton said after checking the timer he'd set and putting away the snack they’d had.

"Enough time for a kiss?" Virgil asked hopefully.

He looked so sweet and hopeful when he asked that Patton just had to say yes. And he also wanted a kiss.

"Of course," He said, smiling back at him.

Virgil stepped forwards and wrapped his arms around Patton before gently kissing him.

Patton wrapped his arms around Virgil’s neck and happily kissed him back.

Virgil shifted slightly and moved so that Patton's back was pressed against an empty area of the counter. He then proceeded to gently push him back, still kissing him, until Patton's back was pressed against the cool counter top and Virgil was using his elbows to prop himself up.

Patton hummed softly into the kiss and moved his hands to tangle themselves in Virgil's hair, pulling him closer while also massaging his scalp.

The two continued their kiss for a good long while, before Virgil pulled away and moved to press kisses and gentle nips to Patton's neck, drawing out another hum and a pleased and content sigh.

He eventually pulled away, and opened his eyes to look down at Patton, blushing and smiling as he did.

Patton’s face was flushed red and his eyes were half closed. His mouth was partially open and his lips were red and slightly swollen from the kiss. There weren’t really any marks on his neck because Virgil had been careful not to leave any.

Virgil leaned back and allowed Patton to sit up.

“You‘re so cute,” Virgil said as he pressed a kiss to Patton’s cheek, earning a small laugh.

“Oh you’re much cuter than me,” Patton said as he smiled at him.

“Nope, you’re cuter.” Virgil said as he led him over to the oven.

“You’re wrong,” Patton said, “you are much much cuter than me.” He said.

“Here,” Virgil said, “how about we ask Logan and Roman when they get back?” He suggested.

“Sure, but they’re gunna agree with me on that you’re cuter.” Patton said as he went to grab a pair of oven-mitts so he could take the cake out.

“Can you go grab a cooling rack?” Patton asked as he came back with the mitts.

“Sure,” Virgil said, walking over to a cupboard and pulling out one of the cooling racks, quickly setting it up on the table as Patton pulled the cake out.

Patton than flipped the cake so the bottom of the pan was facing up and set it down onto the cooling rack.

“And now onto the whipped cream." Patton said. "This is the kinda boring part." He added.

"Cause it takes so long?" Virgil asked.

"Cause it takes so long." Patton agreed with a nod.

They poured the heavy cream, vanilla and powdered sugar into a bowl and got a whisk. Then it begun. The grueling task of just mixing it together at a fast yet steady pace for what seemed like forever. They each took turns whisking it, switching between left and right arms and shifting their grip every few minutes or so as they continued to whisk.

"Geez I forgot how long this took." Virgil said as he continued to whisk, it being his turn at the moment.

"Yeah, I think everyone forgets until they need to do it." Patton said as he rubbed his hand and flexed his semi-sore fingers, having just finished his turn.

"Well at least we're almost done." Virgil said.

And he was right, the mixture had begun to thicken and was slowly but surely beginning to form peaks. It was another few minutes of whisking until it was actually done though, the whipped cream being able to form stiff peaks and hold its shape.

"Good, all done with that." Virgil said as he set the bowl down on the counter and flexed his arm a bit, feeling a bit sore like Patton.

Patton nodded, before smiling and scraping a small bit of whipped cream off he side of the bowl, before tasting it.

"It's good though," Patton said, before scooping a bit more up with his thumb, which he moved to hover in front of Virgil's lips. "Want a taste?" He asked.

Virgil smiled and nodded before opening his mouth, a small blush dusting across his cheeks.

Patton gently pressed his thumb into Virgil's mouth, his own blush appearing as Virgil closed his mouth around his thumb and sucked gently, humming softly at the sweet taste of the whipped cream.

He opens his mouth a few seconds later, letting Patton pull his hand away. "It does taste good." He said with a grin.

The two then quickly went about cutting up the strawberries, both still blushing a little bit as they cut them up into semi-thin slices, playfully feeding each other a few of them as well.

“Well, the cake’s still kinda warm, but we can take it out of the pan now.” Patton said as he flipped the cake pan over so that the top of the cake was facing up.

He took a thin skewer and ran it along with inner edge of the pan, separating the cake from the cake pan, before flipping it again and letting the cake fall out onto the cooling rack.

The cake was very light and fluffy looking, and the outside was both white and light brown.

Patton gently touched the cake to see just how warm it was.

“Well, it’s not hot or anything,” he said, “do you want to get the whipped cream and strawberries out while I get some plates and forks?” He asked.

“Sure, I can do that.” Virgil said as he went to go get them.

Patton went to one of the cabinets and pulled out two small plates, and then pulled two forks and a knife out of a drawer, before heading back to where the cake was. Virgil was already back with the whipped cream and strawberries as well.

“How big of a slice do you want?” Patton asked as he set the plates and forks down and picked up the knife.

“Not too big of a slice, but whatever you plan on cutting for yourself is fine.” Virgil said as he want to grab a spoon for the whipped cream.

“Alright,” Patton said as he carefully cut two decently sized slices of the cake, carefully setting them onto the plates before washing the knife and putting it away.

“How much whipped cream would you like?” Virgil asked.

“I’d like quite a bit please, if you don’t mind.” Patton said.

“Not at all.” Virgil said as he scooped a fair amount of whipped cream onto one of the slices of cake. “That about good?” He asked.

“Perfect.” Patton said, before putting a couple of strawberry slices onto the slice while Virgil scooped whipped cream onto his own slice before adding his own amount of strawberry slices.

“They look so cute.” Patton said.

“And delicious.” Virgil added as he picked up one of the forks.

The two of them each took a bite of the sweet fluffy cake, and smiled at each other.

“A delicious angel food cake, made by my adorable angel of a boyfriend.” Virgil said as he leaned against the counter, watching Patton blush.

“We both made it,” Patton said, “so that makes you an angel too.” He added, before scooping a bite off of his plate and offering it to Virgil, who smiled sheepishly and ate the bite with a blush, before doing the same and offering Patton a bite, who happily accepted.

The two of them enjoyed their cake, chatting and messing around until they’d finished their slices. Then they labeled and put the cake, whipped cream, and strawberries away, planning on sharing some with Logan and Roman when they came back.

-

They’d finished dinner and were now all in Virgil’s room, although Patton had left for a second.

“Did you guys have a fun date?” Virgil asked as he began to change into his pajamas.

“We did,” Logan said, “we went for a ride and then to the cliffs above the ocean where we saw several species of bird that nested in the cliffs and caught fish and bugs.” He said.

“And we went and had a snack before heading down the cliffs to the beach, where we cuddled for a bit and may or may not have made out.” Roman added, both him and Logan blushing.

Virgil smiled. “Sounds like fun.” He said.

“What did you and Patton do?” Roman asked, “I know you guys mentioned something about baking this morning.”

Virgil nodded, “Yeah, we went down to the market to get some ingredients before coming back and making an angel food cake with whipped cream and strawberries.” Virgil said, just as Patton cake back with two plates in his hands.

“I know you two just had dinner, but we were wondering if you’d like to try it?” Patton said as he came over to the bed with the two slices of cake, each with a large dollop if whipped cream and several slices of strawberries.

“Well, I don’t know about Lohan, but I’d be happy to have a slice “ Roman said.

“I would also enjoy a slice.” Logan said, before accepting the plate Patton passed to him while Roman did the same.

The two of them each took a bite of the cake, and roman made a happy hum sound as his face lit up before quickly taking another bite.

“It’s delicious.” Logan said as he also took another bite.

“So so so so soooo good.” Roman said as he ate another bite.

Both Patton and Virgil blushed and smiled sheepishly.

“I’m glad you two like it.” Patton said as he took a seat on the bed, Virgil soon joining him.

The two of them quickly finished their slices of cake, and set the plates on the nightstand to take down to the kitchens in the morning.

They weren’t quiets ready for sleep yet tough, and decided to just lounge around on the bed.

“Hey Roman And Logan,” Patton began, “Can you tell Virgil that he’s cuter than me?” He asked.

“No no no,” Virgil said as he sat up, “he is much cuter than me.” He said.

Logan and Roman glanced at each other.

“I don’t know pat,” Roman began, “he’s right, you are very cute.” He said as he wrapped his arms around Patton.

“And Patton is also correct in that you are very cute as well Virgil,” Logan said as he wrapped his arms around Virgil and gently pulled him into his lap.

“That doesn’t tell us who is cuter though.” Virgil said as he shifted in Logan’s hold so that he was facing him, one leg on either side of Logan’s waist.

“I think you’re both equally adorable.” Roman said as he cupped Patton’s cheek and pressed their foreheads together.

“Yes, we cannot say who is cuter than the other because in our eyes you’re both just as cute.” Logan said as he shifted his hold so that he was holding Virgil’s hands.

“Can I kiss you?” Roman asked softly, earning a nod from Patton. Roman pulled him closer and hummed as he gently kissed Patton, who happily kissed back while wrapping his arms around Romans neck.

“Can I have a kiss too?” Logan asked Virgil.

Virgil nodded, “of course you can.” He said with a smile.

Logan smiled back as gently shifted them so that Virgil was on his back with Logan above him, between his legs. He leaned down and gently captured Virgil’s lips in a kiss, while also gently pressing his hands up and against the bed next to Virgil’s head, still holding Virgil’s hands.

Virgil hummed softly and closed his eyes as he kissed him back, his face flushing a bright strawberry red.

Logan eventually pulled back and allowed Virgil to sit back up again, only to be pushed down himself and have Virgil snuggle up against his chest. “Bed time.” Virgil mumbled, his face still beat red.

“Bed time?” Logan questioned.

“Bed time.” Virgil repeated.

Roman and Patton pulled apart and looked over, laughing softly. “I suppose it is getting late.” Patton said.

“Go get comfy with them, I’ll turn off the lights.” Roman said as he gently let Patton go before slipping out of bed.

Patton crawled over and pressed himself up against Virgil, humming softly as he nuzzled against him and wrapped his arms around his waist, gently grabbing ahold of one of Logan’s hands as well.

Roman went around the room, quickly turning the lights off, before going them in the bed, curling up next to Patton and dropping his arm across all three of them.

“Good night.” Logan said as he pulled the covers over all of them.

“Night,” Virgil mumbled as he snuggled closer to Logan’s chest.

“Sleep tight.” Patton said softly.

“Good night.” Roman said as he pressed a gentle kiss to the back of Patton’s neck.

The four of them quickly dozed off, content to just sleep and be together for now until they’d need to leave in the early morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there was that. Hopefully you guys like if, hopefully it wasn’t to sappy or cringy and all that.  
The next chapter is gunna be a fun one, I hope you’re ready cause I’m not. It’ll be at least a couple of days before I post it since I haven’t started it yet, but it shouldn’t take too long. I don’t know if its gonna be long or short, we’ll just have to wait and see.


	37. Announcement to the masses

So a while ago I had a question about how comfortable you guys would be with me doing NSFW chapters and if you'd prefer them to be here or in a different book.

I have come to the decision that those chapter(s) will be happening in this book, but I will put multiple warnings in.

(so if some of yalls get upset about not wanting to read that stuff it will be very clear that I warned you multiple times so it's your own fault if you read it, don't attack me pretty please.)

I won't put warnings for stuff like making out and all since I haven't in the past (unless a bunch of yalls want me to, in that case I can).

The only chapter that's coming up that has sex in it as of yet is chapter 36, and I don't know if I'm going to split it up into parts or not cause I've already started writing it and I'm not even a third of the way done and it's already hecking LONG.

On a similar note to me having already started, here's a fun fact: when I'm having writers block in the chapter I need to publish next, I move ahead and pre-write some of the other chapters ahead of time. For example: I'm currently writing chapter 29 but I've already finished writing chapter 30 and chapter 33 and about a third of chapter 36.

For anyone asking I will accept just about any request, so feel free to request anything, but I might not do it for multiple reasons. A) I don't know how I'd write it, B) I'm not comfortable writing it, C) I'm trying to keep some sort of plot that flows and all and this particular request doesn't really fit ( I've been trying to make as many fit as I can). D) I want to write it but have writers block and ahhh, E) it's REALLY similar to a prompt I've already done.

I also might combine some prompts if they're either very similar or might go well together, so it might not be exactly what you requested, but it is similar or at least includes some aspects of what you asked for.

And again, I am still accepting prompts so don't be afraid to write one in the comments or pm me if that makes you more comfortable. Whatever works for you works for me.


	38. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Girl flirts with Virgil a heck ton cause she wants him for his money and his title, and since she's technically a suitor he needs to go spend the day with her, but Roman, Logan and patton get jealous and decide to handle things themselves"
> 
> (I may have added some stuff as well)
> 
> I hope you're ready.  
Cause it's happening.  
Oh boy this is gunna be a bad one.   
I really hope you're ready.
> 
> There are consent issues and sexual harassment in this chapter.   
Just a warning.

Virgil was half asleep against Logan's chest, his breath steady and his eyes closed, but still mostly aware.

The two of them were lounging in their special little spot in the garden, that couldn't be seen from the guard patrols or any of the castle windows.

He didn't know where Patton and Roman were right now, although he was pretty sure they'd told him this morning, but he was too sleepy to remember. He and Logan had been there for a while, with Logan reading and while Virgil had originally been drawing, he was now napping against Logan's chest and curled up in his lap while Logan continued to read.

He was beginning to actually fall asleep when the calm atmosphere was broken.

"You're highness!! You're highness are you in the gardens?!?" A female voice called out. "You're parents would like to speak with you!!"

Virgil whined softly, not wanting to get up but also not wanting to get caught.

Logan sighed and closed his book. "You should probably go see what they want." He said softly, as he gently rubbed Virgil's back. "I'll meet you back in your room?"

"Yeah, okay." Virgil said with a sigh as he got up, stretching slightly before rubbing his face.

He stood up and brushed himself off, before calling out to the servant.

"I'm here Mrs.Becker!" He called back as he began to walk towards where her voice was coming from.

He eventually bumped into her, and she quickly led him out of the gardens and to the throne room. "I am sorry to disturb your time in the gardens, but your parents said it was mildly urgent." She said as she led him through the halls.

"No it's okay, I don't mind." He said. "And if it's urgent then I thank you for getting me so fast." He added.

They soon entered the throne room, where his parents sat whispering to themselves.

"Your majesties I've found him." Mrs.Becker said with a small bow.

"Thank you," the queen said with a nod, and with that Mrs.Becker scurried our of the room.

"So," Virgil began after she'd left, "what's the matter?" He asked.

"Well," His father began, glancing over at his wife, "it seems as if though you have another suitor." He said.

Virgil sagged slightly. "I do?" He asked. He didn't really want to deal with another one, and he also didn't really want to leave home again.

"Yes, and this one is a bit...unorthodox." His mother said slowly, looking like she wasn't to sure on the matter herself.

"What do you mean?" Virgil asked.

"Well, she's already here." His father said.

Now that was a surprise.

"She's here?! Like here here?" Virgil asked, gesturing around them.

"Yes," His mother said, "apparently she had been on a trip to corona and saw you at some point and wished to court you, but is apparently heading home tomorrow and insisted on spending time with you today." She said. "And although it is unorthodox we can't just tell her no if we want to remain on good terms with her kingdom."

"O-okay," Virgil said as he shifted awkwardly. "Um, where is she exactly?" He asked, glancing around as if this mysterious person would pop up out of no where.

"We have her waiting in a tea room, and she has given you one hour to prepare yourself before she says she'll come find you to start things." His father said, "sorry for the short notice and sorry for taking your free day." He added with an apologetic expression.

"No, it's okay." Virgil said. "I-I'll just, uh, l'll just go start getting ready." He said as he began to walk towards the door.

"Alright, hopefully you have fun?" His mother called back, although by her tone Virgil assumed she thought he wouldn't actually have fun.

-

"Wait, so let me get this straight." Roman began from his seat on Virgil's bed. "This lady just shows up and, basically, demands that you spend the day with her because of the whole suitor need to spend time with them stuff, but has only given you an hour to get ready?" He summarized.

"Yes and I have even less than an hour now since that was roughly ten minutes ago." Virgil said as he dug around through his wardrobe to find something nice to wear.

Apparently Logan had bumped into Patton and Roman on his way to Virgil's room, and the three were going to surprise him with cuddles, but we're now listening to him explain everything while he rushed around the room to get ready and such.

"Do I need a bath? No I don't have time for a bath, or do I? Should I take a bath? When was the last time I took a bath?" He asked himself aloud.

"You took a bath yesterday." Logan said softly. "Remember? Patton had taken some of the water and splashed Roman."

Virgil paused for a second. "Oh, right." He said, a sheepish smile appearing on his face. "Sorry, I guess I'm just a bit, um, just a bit-"

"A bit frazzled?" Roman asked. "Yeah, we can kinda tell." He said, before wincing as Patton elbowed him in the side. "But it's understandable." He added.

"I know I just-" virgil took a deep breath as he began to pace. "With the other suitors they all sent letters and gave me a bit of time to prepare myself and all, but this one just showed up here unannounced and gives me an hour to get ready." He said. "I don't know what to wear, I don't know what to do when we go out and I have to show her around, I don't know how serious she is or how she'll react when I tell her I'm not interested." He said, pacing faster and faster the more worked up he got.

Patton stood up and carefully stopped Virgil's pacing by putting a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, everything will be alright." He said.

"We can help you find something to wear, and we can help you figure out what to do." He continued. "And if she doesn't accept you not wanting a relationship with her, than you can remember you have us waiting for you."

Virgil bit his lip before slowly nodding. "Alright." He said, before glancing between them.

"What should I wear?" He asked, a smile appearing on his face as Roman shot up and went straight to his wardrobe.

"Give me five minutes and I'll make you look so good this suitor isn't going to be the only after your heart today." Roman said as he began to dig, making Patton laugh and Virgil blush.

"Remember, it still needs to be practical and comfortable for moving around and doing stuff." Logan said as he stood up and went to join Roman in finding an outfit.

"Come on," Patton said as he gently dragged Virgil towards the bathroom, "let's have you take a nice hot bath so that you can relax a bit while also thinking of stuff to do." He said.

"Okay," Virgil said with a nod as he followed him, feeling less stressed already now that he had the three of them helping him with this.

Patton began to set up the bath while Virgil began to undress, grabbing a towel and hanging it next to the tub.

He carefully slid into the tub when it was ready, thanking Patton multiple times, only for Patton to brush it off, saying it was nothing.

Patton sat down next to the tub and help Virgil's hand as the two of them began planning on what to do what this person, taking into consideration the weather and what time of day it was and would be and such.

By the time Virgil was out of the bath and dried off he and Patton had made a semi-decent plan on what to do, and Logan and Roman had agreed on an outfit.

"We can find you something different if you don't like it," Roman said.

"But this should be suitable for today." Logan said.

"Thanks." Virgil said, before moving to get dressed.

The two of them had picked out an off white high-neck ruffled blouse with baggy sleeves that were cinched at the wrists and ended in ruffles as well, a dark plum purple vest that hugged his sides securely but was loose enough whiled buttoned to let him breath and also had black flowers embroidered into it, along with a pair of soft yet form fitting black slacks and a pair of shiny yet comfortable black shoes.

"Oh my gosh you look so pretty." Patton said with a bright smile.

Virgil blushed, "are you sure?" He asked as he looked at himself in the mirror.

"Oh I know for a fact that you look amazing." Roman said as he wrapped his arms around him from behind. "If you weren't going out today I'd most defiantly ask for at least some kisses." He said as pressed a kiss to the side of Virgil's neck.

"And if I didn't need to leave in roughly ten minutes I would most definitely say yes." Virgil said as he turned around in his hold and smiled up at him.

"Do you want us to go meet her with you?" Logan asked as he walked up to Virgil's side and pressed a kiss to his temple.

"Maybe it will be easier for you if we do." Patton said with a nod of agreement as he went to stand one Virgil's other side.

"I'd like that." Virgil said softly as he smiled shyly.

The four of them headed down stairs and met up with Virgil's parents, before a servant was sent to go collect the suitor.

They were not ready for this.

A girl with shoulder length light brown hair, pale skin and a bright emerald green dress that puffed out quite a bit came rushing down the hall, her green heels clacking on the floor as she raced into the room, an overly excited grin on her face as her eyes darted around the room.

She squealed when her eyes caught onto Virgil, and she quickly rushed over, only stopping a few inches away from him.

"Your just as handsome as I remembered." She said, looking at him with a loving expression, "although you could do with a few less ruffles." She added, not noticing the slight offended look Roman gave her.

"It's a pleasure meeting you," She said as she took a small step back and held her hand out, palm facing down. She wasn't asking for a hand shake.

Virgil bit his lip and glanced between his parents and his boyfriends, before hesitantly taking her hand. "The pleasure is all mine." Virgil said, before leaning down and just barely brushing his lips against her hand, not nearly a kiss but she seemed to accept it.

"It is isnt it." She said with a small giggle before pulling her hand back.

It was only then that her guards came into the room, panting slightly from running after her. Even wearing heels she was much faster than the two of them.

"Now, you need to show me around your kingdom don't you? I want to see everything." She said, grabbing onto the crook of Virgil's elbow and pulling him towards the doors to the castle, ignoring his stuttering response and not even noticing the desperate yet apologetic look he sent towards the other occupants of the room.

Then as quickly as she had come the princess was gone, taking Virgil with her, her guards groaning slightly before rushing after them.

"Wow." Roman said as he stared at the door they'd just left out of.

"She was...excitable." Patton said, shifting awkwardly.

"And a tab bit rude if I'm being honest." Logan said, "I mean, she barely let Virgil get a word in and didn't even acknowledge anyone else." He said.

"While that is true," the queen said, "at least she wasn't...ahem, at least she wasn't too...." she trailed off, not knowing how to put it in a nice way.

"Obnoxious?" The king suggested, before laughing at the unimpressed look his wife gave him. "What, she kind of was, I mean, it's okay to be excited, but that was a little much." He said.

"Do we even know her name?" Roman asked. "She didn't introduce herself."

"She is princess Kaitlyn from the kingdom of Cailyst, which is more inland in the hills, and is fourth in line to the throne." The queen said.

She and the queen then excused themselves, saying they had things to discuss, leaving the three of them alone.

"So, we're following them, right?" Roman said. "We can't possibly ignore that she was blatantly making Virgil uncomfortable and didn't seem to care."

"While it might not be the best decision, I must agree." Logan said, "if we leave now we should be able to follow them at a reasonably safe distance."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Patton asked.

The three of them quickly left the castle and hurried to catch up to Virgil and Kaitlyn, not wanting to lose them in the crowd.

-

While the princess had said she wanted him to show her everything, that didn't really seem to be the case anymore.  
She didn't want to go to the library, she didn't want to go to the pier, and she didn't want to go near the stables or the woods.

Virgil eventually convinced her to go into the market, only for her to giggle and latch onto his arm, pressing herself close, ignoring how tense and uncomfortable Virgil was.

-

"That's a tad bit closer than I'm comfortable with her being." Roman said from where he was watching the pair leaning against a wall in the shade near the other two.

"Well, we can't just march up and force them apart." Logan said, crossing his arms.

Patton glance ahead in the market, and saw a very familiar sight that brought a smile onto his face.

"Or can we." He said, turning to grin as Roman and Logan, who both looked at him in confusion.

"Either of you two want to dance?"

-

The princess, Kaitlyn as Virgil now learned, dragged Virgil into one of the stalls in the market that had lots of jewelry in it.

She fawned over the sparkly items, and Virgil browsed a couple he though Roman might like, before being dragged back to Kaitlyns side.

"Oh look at this one." Kaitlyn said as she pointed to one of the necklaces. It was a chain of honey yellow gems pieces together into the shape of suns with small red, orange, and light yellow beads accenting them, all of the stones glittering in the sun. "Oh it's so pretty." She said, "Virgie can you please get it for me?" She asked, pouting up at him.

Virgil hesitated and chewing on his lip. He didn't really want to, but his hesitation only seemed to make Kaitlyn more determined.

"Pretty please? If you do I'll give you a kiss in return." She said as she leaned even closer to him, fluttering her eyelashes a little.

"T-that's not necessary," Virgil stuttered, gently moving her away, "but sure, I-I guess I can get you the necklace." He said.

He quickly went about paying for the necklace with the bit of money his parents had given him as an allowance for sorts, before giving it to Kaitlyn, who squeezed and put it on before latching onto his arm again and dragging him out of the stall.

They continued to walk for a while before coming across a gathering in the square.

Music was playing and people were laughing and dancing, but before he could offer Kaitlyn a dance he was quickly swept up and pulled away from her and into the dance.

He looked up to see who he was dancing with and was surprised to see Patton beaming at him.

"Patton??" Virgil asked in surprise as the two of them danced in a circle to the beat, a very similar if not the same dance they'd participated in when they first showed up in Corona.

"Hi Virgil." Patton said as he twirled Virgil around.

"Pat what are you doing here?" Virgil asked.

"Oh you know, just hanging around with Logan and Roman," he said, "we decided to just explore the kingdom a bit." He added, before Virgil ended up switching partners.

He danced around for a while, catching a few glimpses of Kaitlyn stumbling along in the dance, clearly not used to the fast pace or how the dance even went despite it being a very common dance that most people, even Virgil, learned at a young age.

He eventually found himself partnered with Logan, though he shouldn't have been surprised, Patton did say he was out and about with him and Roman.

"How has your time with miss Kaitlyn been?" Logan asked as he twirled Virgil around.

"Um, it's been fine I guess." Virgil said as he glanced around while clapping in time with the music.

Logan hummed thoughtfully. "Well, If you think you'll require assistance at any time just know hat the three of us are around and such." He said, before moving to his next dance partner as Virgil was spun away.

The song continued and everyone continued to dance, and Virgil came to the conclusion that Kaitlyn wasn't having a good time from the small glances he got of her.

Towards the end of the song he found himself dancing with Roman.

"I see that the princess has a new bit of jewelry." Roman said as he carefully picked Virgil up and spun him around in time with everyone else.

"Uh, Yeah, She asked me if I could get it for her." Virgil said as he dipped back as Roman put him down.

"Well that's very kind of you." Roman said.

"But just a reminder, you can say no." He said. "Just because she wants something or wants you to do something doesn't mean you need to go along with it." He continued. "If She makes you uncomfortable in any way you can tell her to stop."

Virgil felt his heart swell at the concern Roman was showing towards Virgil's comfort, and made a small note to give him a bunch of kisses later.

"I know," Virgil said, "she doesn't seem like the kind of person to take that kind of stuff in a good way though." He added.

"Well then you can just leave and come find one of us, we'll set her straight." Roman said.

"You will do no such thing," Virgil said, "I can't have you three just march up to her and start lecturing her, she's a princess and if she gets upset that might ruin the friendship between our kingdoms."

Roman seemed to pause, mulling it over in his head, before sighing. "Fine." He said, "I promise that we won't march up to her and lecture her, but that's as good as your getting." He added.

Virgil sighed softly, "Well if that's as good as I'm gunna get then you'd better keep your promise." He said.

The two continued the dance until the song ended with a sharp beat. They stayed still for a few seconds, neither really wanting to let go, until a pair of arms wrapped themselves around Virgil's arms and began pulling him away.

Turns out the owner of the arms was a very tired and frazzled looking Kaitlyn.

"Come on Virgie, lets get out of here and go somewhere less...rambunctious." She said, glancing back at the gathering of dancers and musicians with disdain.

She all but dragged Virgil down the street, getting as far away as she could.

"Where are you going to take me now Virgie." She asked as she leaned against him as they walked and fluttered her eyelashes a little.

"U-um, well, there's this nice little area we can go to to have." Virgil suggested.

Kaitlyn, seeming to ignore Virgil's suggested, gasped softly lu and pressing even closer to him, leaving up to press her head to the crook of Virgil's neck while also putting a hand on his chest, moving her finger around in lazy circles, and moved her other hand to hook around his waist while fluttering her eyelashes with a small pout, completely ignoring Virgil's uncomfortableness towards the actions.

"Virgie can we go to a restaurant?" She asked. "Oh please say yes." She added, before pressing a kiss to his neck.   
That was a little to much for Virgil.

-

"Oh no no, that's to much." Roman said from where he and the others where now watching the two of them. Kaitlyn had just pressed her face to Virgil's neck and had a hand on his chest.

"Should we step in? V looks really uncomfortable..." Patton said as he chewed on his lip nervously.

"I promised him we wouldn't walk up and step in." Roman said with a huff. "But that doesn't mean we can't step in in other ways." He added.

"What do you mean?" Logan asked, although he didn't look away from Virgil and Kaitlyn.

"We could just subtly make this horrible for her. Accidentally spill her food on her, accidentally trip her into falling into a bush, maybe other things." Roman said as he turned to look back at Virgil and Kaitlyn.

"I don't know..." Patton said hesitantly, "that sounds mean."

The three of them watched as Kaitlyn pressed a kiss to Virgil's neck, a spike of anger and jealousy going through them.

The was a pause of silence between the three of them.  
"Lets go set up for our first intervention." Logan said, the other two nodding in agreement.

-

"Please don't do that." Virgil said as he tried to gently push her away.

"Aw, you don't want my kisses? Virgie you're so mean." Kaitlyn said, before pressing a few more kisses to his neck.

The action made Virgil skin crawl and made him feel gross, and he quickly pushed her away, grabbing her by the shoulders and forcing her off of him as gently as he could.

"Please, I don't like what you're doing and want you to stop." He said, forcing his voice to not shake and resisting the urge to get a wet towel and some soap to wash his neck off.

She stared at him in surprise for a few seconds, before something -and not a good thing- seemed to click in her head.

"Okay Virgie, I won't give you anymore neck kisses." She said as she smiled at him.

"Good," Virgil said, "now I need to talk to you about something important somewhere in private, can you do that?" He asked, since he didn't want to make a scene in public.

She quickly nodded, "Yeah we can go somewhere private." She said with a smile.

Virgil quickly lead her away to a less populated spot so he could go talk to her.

"Okay," Virgil began, "I should have told you earlier, but I am not interested in finding a partner right now." He said. "It has nothing to do with you, I just don't want something like that right now."

Her smile slipped away into a look of confusion.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"I mean that I don't want you to think this is a date, I don't like you that way." He said. "I don't want you to kiss me or hold my hand or my arm."

"But-but-...." she trailed off, not know what to say.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I really just don't feel anything between us and I don't think I'm ready to be in a relationship." He continued.

Again, something seemed to click in her mind.

"Well, if you don't think you're ready then I'll show you you're ready." She said. "I'm going to make you fall in love with me by the end of the day." She said with a determined expression.

Virgil sighed, "That's not what I-" he was cut off by her grabbing onto his arm and pulling him away.

"We're going to the restaurant now, pick somewhere nice." She said as she lead him away.

-

Virgil sighed as he looked up from his menu and over at Kaitlyn, who was drinking a glass of iced tea.

She's ignored his reasonings to not try and woo him and had dragged him to the first nice looking restaurant she found, demanding a nice table that overlooked a fenced in area of grass with a large pond that you could rent a small boat to row around in.

"Oh Virgie we should go for a boat ride on the pond later." She said with a grin as she also looked up from her menu.

"Sure." Virgil said as he looked away from her and back down at his menu. He wasn't really hungry right now, feeling to uncomfortable to want to actually eat anything. Maybe just a bowl of fruit or something.

Kaitlyn quickly flagged down a waiter when she was done deciding and told her her order. Virgil glanced down at what she ordered and bit his lip. It was fairly expensive, especially with the stuff she added onto it and requested how it was made.

He quickly told the waiter that the fruit salad was fine when Kaitlyn was done, before taking a sip of his water.

"Careful Virgie, that's a lot of sugar and I don't want you getting chubby." She said.

Virgils cheeks flushed slightly and he carefully wrapped his arms around his stomach self-consciously.

"U-um, Yeah sure, okay..." he mumbled as he fiddled with the hem of his vest.

"You should also work on not stuttering or mumbling, what will the people think of a king who stutters and mumbles?" She asked.

Virgil nodded, not looking at her.

The waiter brought his food out first, since it didn't take as much time as Kaitlyns to prepare. Virgil looked up to thank him but stopped in surprise.

Roman, wearing a waiters uniform, winked at him before walking away, leaving a shocked Virgil to watch him go.

Virgil quickly tore his eyes away from Romans retreating form and down to his food.

What we're those three doing?

He picked up his fork and carefully stabbed a grape before eating it, pleased with the satisfying crunch and the refreshing sweetness.

"Hey Virgie?" Kaitlyn said.

"Yes?" Virgil asked after he swallowed.

"Mind if I have a bite or two?" She asked with a smile.

"Um, sure." Virgil said, nudging the bowl of fruit towards her.

She ignored the bowl though, and simple closed her eyes and opened her mouth, waiting expectantly.

Virgil sighed and carefully stabbed a blueberry. He brought it up and put the berry between her lips.

She took the bite with a hum, smiling as she chewed while Virgil quickly wiped his fork off on a napkin before taking a bite of watermelon for himself.

"Another." She said as she opened her mouth again.

Virgil felt a little uncomfortable doing this, but since Kaitlyn seemed to not care about that he decided to just go along with it anyways.

He stabbed a piece of honeydew, but before he could bring it over a waiter brought over Kaitlyns food, but ended up tripping and spilling the food onto her.

Her fresh garden salad with a grilled chicken sandwich with no onions or tomatoes but lettuce and avocado with a vinaigrette-like sauce was now in pieces on her dress and even in her hair.

She jerked in surprise with a gasp as she was suddenly covered in food, before turning to look at the waiter who had dropped the food on her, her gaze turning furious and her face getting red.

The waiter -Roman- quickly got up from where he'd tripped while another waiter, someone who actually worked there, quickly rushed over, spouting out apologies and telling them they wouldn't need to pay and that they'd bring her out a replacement right away.

Roman had slipped away at some point, Virgil hadn't noticed him leave, too busy trying to calm Kaitlyn down. He tried to take some of the food out of her hair, but she slapped his hand away, snapping that she could do it herself, before she got up and stomped off towards a bathroom to clean up, leaving Virgil to sit alone while another staff member came over to clean up the mess.

She came back roughly twenty minutes later, mostly cleaned up and looking more calm then she had been before.

She sat down and a waiter soon brought out their food, telling them that as an apology they wouldn't need to pay.

They ate their meal, and soon left, only for Kaitlyn to as if they could get dessert somewhere else to make her feel better since she was still upset about the food.

On their way to a bakery she ended up getting bumped into by someone, and she accidentally fell into a bush, then when they got to the bakery they picked a cupcake each before heading over to the area with the small pond Kaitlyn had asked to go to earlier.

They sat down under a tree and began to eat their cupcakes, but the minute Kaitlyn set hers down it was swarmed by ants, so she threw it into a bush, before turning to Virgil and asking for some of his.

Not really wanting her to get mad again he quickly just gave her his cupcake, which seems to make her happy, despite her previously saying she didn't like strawberry and Virgil's cupcake was pink with strawberries and sweet white whipped cream.

She ate the cup cake before snuggling up to Virgil's side, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Fallen for me yet?" She asked as she turned her head to look up at him.

Virgil sighed, "Kaitlyn, I already told you I'm not interested." He said.

She pouted, before sitting up and turning to him.

Then before he could blink she was on top of him, holding both of his hands and pinning to the ground on his back as he stared up at her with wide eyes.

"Maybe if I show you how good at kissing then you'll learn to like me." She said as she smiled down at him.

"Stop, I don't want this and you need to get off right now." Virgil said, although his voice shook a little bit as she ignored him and began to lean down and in for a kiss.

But before she could do anything there was a flash of black and suddenly she was up and off of him, crying out in both surprise and in pain.

A large black bird was flapping in her face and scratching at her and pulling at her hair while cawing loudly, pecking at her ears and nose as well.

Remy.

"Get off of me! Get off of me you stupid bird!!" Kaitlyn yelled as she tried to both smack the bird away and protect her face.

Virgil, not wanting her or Remy to actually get hurt, got up and quickly pulled Remy away, holding him close while stroking his feathers to get him to calm down.

"I am so so so so sorry, I don't know what's gotten into him or why he's here," Virgil said, while mentally making a note to give Remy some of the berries he likes as a thank you for getting him out of the situation.

"Him?!?" Kaitlyn all but shrieked. "You mean that stupid ugly bird is yours!!" She asked as she shivered her tangled and frizzy hair out of her face and stared at him with wide angry eyes. She has a few scratches on her face, and her nose and ears were red from Remy's pecking. "I demand you get rid of that-that!-that thing!! At once!!!" She snapped as she stomped her foot, absolutely fuming with rage.

Virgil quickly took a step back, before whispering to Remy.

"Thanks bud, but you gotta go, I'll give you berries when we get home." He said, before letting remy go.

He didn't take off immediately, instead he turned to Kaitlyn and puffed up his feathers in a threatening manner, before cawing loudly at her and taking off, circling above them a few times before actually flying away.

"Um, lets go for that little boat ride you wanted to do." Virgil said slowly, not wanting her to burst and lash out at him.

Kaitlyn took a deep breath before smiling at him tightly and nodding. "Yes, lets." She said, before stomping off towards the small dock at the edge of the large pond, Virgil quickly following her.

They rented a small paddle boat, which Virgil quickly rowed out to the far side of the pond, underneath a large weeping willow tree.

Kaitlyn seemed to have calmed down a bit, and was smiling as she looked around.

"This is so nice," She said softly, "and romantic." She added, before turning to Virgil, who stiffened.

“I think,” she began as she leaned in close to him. “That you owe me a kiss for what your...bird did.” She said. “Don’t you?”

“I-I, um, Kaitlyn I don’t-” Virgil was cut off by her pressing a finger to his lips.

“Shut up.” She said in a sweet voice, glaring at him before smiling just as sweet.

“I think,” she began again, “that you owe me a kiss Virgie,” she said, “and if I don’t get one then I think I might -no, I will- get angry, angrier than I already am.” She said with a smile.

She pulled her finger away and leaned in even closer. Virgil didn’t know what to do. He didn’t want this but didn’t want her to get angry either.

But before he could move their boat rocked suddenly, making both of them freeze.

Then the boat rocked again, almost unnaturally, before tipping over and spilling them out into the water.

Virgil felt himself fall into the water for only a few seconds before a pair of arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him up.

“I am terribly sorry sir and ma’am,” a very familiar voice said, “I was swimming and didn’t see where I was going.”

Virgil blinked his eyes open and looked up and saw Logan looking down at him.

Before he could say anything there was a splash behind them.

“That’s it!” Kaitlyn shriek as she burst out of the water, a clump of algae on her had that she angry snatched up and threw back into the water. “I have had it with this stupid kingdom!” She yelled as she ripped the necklace Virgil had bought her off and threw it into the lake before trudging her way out of the water and clambering up onto the bank of the pond and onto the grass, getting mud on her already soaked dress.

She turned around to look at him. “I can clearly see that this was pointless,” She snapped, “don’t even bother seeing me off, I will be leaving the moment I arrive back at the castle.” She said. “Goodbye Virgil.” She said, before turning around sharply and stomped away, no doubt heading straight for the castle.

Virgil stared off at her in shock, before coming back to reality as Logan began to carefully get them both out of the water. He set Virgil down on the grass gently.

“How about you take your vest, socks and shoes off while I go recover your boat.” Logan said, before turning away and walking back into the water.

Almost out of nowhere Patton, Roman and Remy showed up, Patton kneeling next to Virgil while Roman went to help Logan with the boat and Remy landed on his shoulder, bumping his head against Virgil’s cheek.

“I- Patton? Remy?” Virgil said as he between Remy and Patton, who began to help him take his vest off.

“Hi Virgil.” Patton said with a smile.

“What are you guys doing here?” Virgil asked.

“I-uh, well we decided to, um...” Patton trailed off with a sheepish smile.

“We decided there needed to be an intervention.” Roman said as he and Logan pulled the boat out of the water.

“And intervention?” Virgil asked.

“Yes,” Logan said, “we decided that Miss Kaitlyns actions towards you were not appropriate, and seeing as you didn’t want us to intervene in an obvious way, you could say we decided to take maker into our own hands.”

“Wait- so that was all you guys?” Virgil asked as Patton helped him to stand up.

“I mean, the dancing was us, and the food was us, and her tripping was us, the ants weren’t though, but Remy was us, and the boat was us.” Roman said, listing things out on his fingers.

“You guys got Remy?” Virgil asked as he looked at them and then at the bird, who puffed out his chest proudly.

“Yes, while Logan and I stayed to watch Patton went and got Remy so he could intervene if necessary, which it was.” Roman said.

“Come on, lets get home and dried off, maybe a warm bath.” Logan said as he placed a gentle hand on Virgil’s lower back.

The four of them slowly made their way back to the castle, after returning the boat of course.

By the time they got back Princes Kaitlyn had left already according to Virgil’s parents. They didn’t ask about what had happened, and just told them to go get clean and dried off.

Virgil and Logan quickly set up a bath when they got to Virgil’s room, with Roman heading to Logan’s room to get him some clean clothes.

“Do you wish to take turns bathing? If so would you like to go first?” Logan asked.

“Um, we could take one together,” Virgil said shyly, “if you’re comfortable with it.” He quickly added, his cheeks red.

Logan’s cheeks quickly flushed up as well, but he nodded with a small smile. “I wouldn’t mind that.” He said, before beginning to undress.

Virgil quickly began to undress as well, and the two of them slipped into the bath a minute or so before Roman came back, along with Patton, who had insisted on getting Virgil his clothes.

“So,” Virgil said as he leaned against Logan’s shoulder as they both relaxed in the warm water, “explain to me what exactly you guys did?” He said.

The other three quickly began to tell him how they had followed him and Kaitlyn and had decided that they needed to intervene when Kaitlyn began to make Virgil uncomfortable, and shyly admitted that at first they were jealous, but then became more concerned seeing as Kaitlyn was getting more and more bold with her affections.  
They continued to tell him about their plans to try and drive Kaitlyn off whiteout her knowing it was intentional.

“I know it was kinda mean, but we really thought she deserved it after what she did.” Patton said as he leaned against the tub.

“She was being extremely inappropriate and forceful towards you despite your protests and we felt like we needed to step in.” Logan said as he wrapped his arm around Virgil.

“And we’d do it again if this sort of thing happened again.” Roman said as he looked at Virgil from where he sat next to Patton.

Virgil sighed softly and leaned against Logan, “I should be mad at you,” he said softly, “but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t appreciate you guys stepping in.” He added.

Logan pressed a kiss to Virgil’s forehead while Patton cooed softly and reached into the water to hold Virgil’s hand.

“Are you good? I know she did some stuff that made you uncomfortable.” Roman said softly.

“I’ll be fine,” Virgil said, “just need to forget about today.” He added as he gently tucked his head under Logan’s chin.

Logan held him closer and pressed another kiss to the top of his head.

“Would cuddles and kisses help?” Patton asked.

“Yeah,” Virgil said, “we can go do that when Logan and I are all clean and such.” He said.

“If that’s the case then I suggest we actually try to clean ourselves,” Logan said, “although I do enjoy the cuddling.” He added.

The two of them then quickly finished cleaning up before getting out of the tub o dry off and get dressed, before the four of them went to the bed and all climbed in.

Roman leaned back against the headboard and gently pulled Virgil against his side, pressing kisses to the top of his head while Patton snuggled up next to Virgil and Logan on the other side of Roman.

“Am I allowed to kiss your neck?” Patton asked, not knowing if Virgil would be okay with it after what happened earlier.

“Yes you can.” Virgil said as he tilted his head a little, pressing his face against Romans neck while also giving pat better access.

Patton shifted into a more comfortable position before beginning to press kisses to Virgil’s neck, mumbling ‘I love you’ in between each kiss he made.

Virgil hummed softly and gently brought a hand up to card his fingers through Patton’s hair. “I love you too,” he said softly, “I love all three of you.” He added as he nuzzled against Romans neck while wrapping his other arm around Logan’s shoulders to hold Logan’s hand.

“I love you all as well,” Logan said as he pressed a kiss to Virgil’s knuckles and then to Romans shoulder.

“I love you three and nothing will ever change that.” Roman said softly as he wrapped an arm around Logan’s waist and pulled him closer.

The three of them continued to cuddle and press loving kisses to each other’s skin.

It wasn’t until later that night that they talked to Virgil about how they would have liked it if he had come to them when Kaitlyn began making him feel uncomfortable, repeating many times that they weren’t mad, but they had been concerned and wanted him to know that they could come to them for anything. They also made sure they knew that as well, and ended up with all four of them promising to come to the other three if they ever needed help or didn’t feel comfortable in a situation.

They had agreed to stay the night with Virgil, despite him have lessons in the morning, none of them really willing to leave his side, especially when he asked them to stay.

And if a servant sent to check on Virgil that night saw them all cuddling and sleeping then he didn’t say a word about seeing anything or anyone else in the room with him to his parents or to any of the other staff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. 
> 
> Sorry if some parts made people uncomfortable, but I did warn you in the beginning, so if you read it anyways then it’s kinda your fault.
> 
> I do have the next chapter already written, but I’m gunna wait a bit to publish it cause I want to and that’s the only reason.
> 
> So yeah.
> 
> Bye!


	39. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: they get caught, sorta...
> 
> This will include slight and brief descriptions of making out and other forms of sexual touching, but not actual sex.  
It is also from the point of view of a servant named Gracie Becker.
> 
> This will be a very Very VERY short chapter, sorry.

Flushed skin.  
Gracie quickly ducked out of view of the window, her face turning red as soft moans could be heard from inside the room.

She had been tasked with weeding the gardens that day, which she didn't mind, and had found a large clump if weeds at the base of a window that looked into one of the many tea rooms of the palace.

What she wasn't expecting to see though, was to see the prince sitting in someone's lap, moaning softly and rocking his hips with his shirt half off.

She carefully looked back inside, her face still flushed red.

Virgil moaned again and tilted his head back as the mystery guy began to kiss and suck at his neck, tightening the grip he had on Virgil's waist as he rocked his hips a little more.

She couldn't see the other guys face, and quickly ducked out of view again, her mind racing.

What should she do? Should she tell the king and queen? Did they already know? Should she and the other servants not know for some reason? Should she tell her superiors? Should she tell anyone?

She shook her head and quickly picked up her basket full of weeds before quickly walking away from the window, trying to get the sounds and images out of her head, not having ever thought she'd see the prince like that.

She had no way to prove what she'd seen, especially since she hadn't seen who the other guy was, She she didn't think telling people would be wise.

She also respected her princes privacy, and although she wanted to lecture the two of them about doing that in a place where anybody could walk -or look- in was not a smart thing to do, she didn't want to cause the prince any unneeded stress or embarrassment. If she was supposed to know about this someone would have told her. And if Virgil felt the king and queen should know he would tell them on his own, it wasn't her place to do so, she didn't want to get the prince or whoever he was with in trouble.

She walked to a different part of the garden and began to weed there instead, thinking of someway to try to anonymously warn the prince about how risky he'd been today.

———

Virgil's face flushed brightly as he read the letter he'd found on his desk, embarrassment welling up inside of him.

Dear prince Virgil,

I apologize for the invasion of privacy, but while I was doing my duties in the gardens today I couldn't help but notice your certain... activities with someone in the tea room in the south wing, the one that over looks the garden. I did not stay around long to see what all you ended up doing, and I didn't see the face of whoever you were doing it with. I have not told anyone I saw you and I do not plan on telling anyone in respect of your privacy, but I know there are some servants who love to gossip and had one of them seen you instead of me then the entire castle would have known by now.

What I'm saying is I would suggest either closing the curtains and locking the door if you hadn't done that already, or doing such activities in a less public area, and maybe being a bit more quiet, I heard you before I saw you.

Yours sincerely, G. B.

Virgil needed to tell the other three about this when they got back, deciding that they needed to tone it down a bit unless they were in Virgil's room, one of their rooms, or a more secure place. He didn't want to get caught before he was ready to tell his parents.

Roman was most definitely going get pouty over the fact that there weren't going to be anymore before-dinner-kisses behind suits of armor or shadowed corners anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ta-da  
Short chapter.  
I hope you liked it despite it being short. Gracie backer might come back at some point, who knows, I sure don't.
> 
> I'm still taking requests if yalls have any, don't be afraid to comment or pm me.
> 
> Bye!!


	40. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Virgil being insecure about some of the things the princess said.
> 
> Get ready for some fluff and comfort yalls  
But not before a large heap of insecurities.
> 
> Did I write this chapter spur of the moment because I saw a comment suggesting something like this?  
Yes, yes I did.  
I stopped writing the original chapter 31 to write this instead. 
> 
> I get sidetracked very easily.
> 
> Also, a note for Deceit/Janus.  
I won't be switching his name to Janus in the fic since I want to stay kinda consistent with that sort of stuff, but in some other Sanders Sides fics I have on the back-burner he will be referred to as Janus.
> 
> Anyway, I hope yalls like it
> 
> on with the chapter

It had been a few days since Kaitlyn had left, but Virgil couldn't get some of the things that happened that day out one his mind. Mostly some of the things Kaitlyn had said about him.  
Did he mumble and stutter too much? Was he overly chubby?

He would have dismissed what she'd said about it being just her opinions and such and that not everyone thought that, but he couldn't help remember when his fath- when Deceit had said very similar things to him, always telling him not to mumble or not to stutter, or to eat less because he was too chubby.

He couldn't get the thought that maybe they were right out of his head no matter what he did, and it was only worsened when he was sent to a tailor by his parents for some new clothes in a very pretty fabric.

They had to re-do his measurements since they didn't know if he was the same size, and apparently he needed a bigger size now than he had before.

Was he getting chubby?

He'd heard a pair of women talking in town one day, saying that if the other girl wanted to get a man she'd need to lose some weight, cause men didn't like chubby-ness.

That got Virgil thinking. Would Roman, Logan and Patton care if he was chubby? Would they lose interest in him if he got chubbier? Had they already noticed he was getting chubbier? They weren't spending as much time with him lately than they had been before...

So Virgil did some research, going to the library and looking through medical books for ways to get lose weight, along with other books to try and find ways to stutter less.

He began to eat less food with carbs, and stuck with salads for the most part. He avoided sweets and even fruit, although he felt kinda bad for turning down Patton's invitation to make strawberry shortcake.

He checked in the mirror in the mornings and when he got out of the bath during the evenings. 

He pinched at his stomach and at his thighs, frowning when he was able to get a secure hold of his flesh between his thumb and finger. Was that fat? He didn't know if that was fat or not, but the longer he looked at himself in the mirror the more things he noticed. Maybe he was chubby. 

His stomach looked too big, and his hips felt like they were too squishy. His thighs were chubby too, and he found a couple of stretch marks around his knees when he looked closer. Stretch marks happened when people gained weight right?  
His cheeks also seemed much rounder than they had before when he lived in his tower, and even his back seemed to be getting fattier.

He continued to try to lose his chubbiness, and even began to try out some stuff to help with his stuttering.

People began to notice him not eating as much though, specifically Roman, Logan and Patton.

Obviously Patton had noticed Virgil's sudden dislike of anything sweet early on, but hadn't really thought that much about it, thinking it was something new his instructor was having him try.

All three of them noticed when he began to eat less during meals, and that they sometimes couldn't find him at lunch or at night they'd find him already asleep before they'd even made it into his room to cuddle.

Roman was the first to notice Virgil's seemingly sudden discomfort with his own body though.

-

Roman hummed softly as he pressed his lips to Virgil's, gently pushing him up against the wall as Virgil wrapped his arms around his neck and kissed him back.

Roman carefully moved to hold Virgil's hips and waist as he continued to kiss him, squeezing gently.

He felt Virgil stiffen slightly, before slowly pulling away from the kiss, an apologetic expression on his face.

"I gotta go now, I still have lessons." Virgil said as he moved one of his hands down to cup Romans cheek. "We can cuddle after dinner though." Virgil added.

Roman frowned slightly. "Okay?" He said, slowly pulling his hands away from Virgil.

Virgil smiled at him, before turning and quickly heading down the hall, leaving Roman to stare after him.

-

This happened a few more times, along with Virgil now changing in his bathroom and asking for them to wait outside while he took baths, before they decided that something must be wrong and that they needed to talk to Virgil.

They managed to find an evening where Virgil didn't have any responsibilities, and was still awake by the time they knocked on his window.

They went inside and cuddled up on his bed, chatting softly as they all got comfortable.

Patton maneuvered himself so that he was behind Virgil, and happily wrapped his arms around him, placing his hands on his stomach as he held him close.

He felt Virgil stiffen in his hold and frowned, hooking his chin over Virgil's shoulder.

"What's wrong?" He asked softly.

Virgil quickly shook his head, "n-nothing." He said.

"V," Patton said softly as Roman and Logan looked over at the two, quieting down, "you can tell us things." He said. "Especially if something's bothering you."

"I know," Virgil said, "nothings wrong though." He added as he nervously shifted in Patton's hold.

"Sorry Virge, But I can't believe that everything's fine," Roman said, "you've been acting... different." He added softly, frowning at him.

Virgil crossed his arms and looked away from the three of them. "It's nothing." He mumbled.

"So it's something," Logan said.

"Come one V, you can talk to us," Patton said as he held Virgil closer, wanting to gather him up and hold him close for forever. "Did we do something to make you uncomfortable or upset?" He asked quietly.

"No no, you guys didn't do anything." Virgil quickly reassured, "it's just..." he trailed off, biting his lip.

The three stayed silent, looking at him hopefully.

Virgil sighed softly, and curled up a bit, bringing his knees up to his chest despite Patton's secure hold on his waist.

"Do you guys remember Kaitlyn?" He asked softly.

"Her?" Roman asked. "Is she trying to contact you or something? Cause if so I'll-"

"No she's not," Virgil cut him off, "it's just... I-I've been thinking about some things she and fath- Deceit said...." he said as he looked down at his knees.

"What kind of things?" Patton asked, his voice soft and gentle.

Virgil stayed silent, not really wanting to talk about it anymore but also knowing he'd dug himself into a hole he couldn't get out of now.

A hand slowly reached forwards, giving him time to move away, and gently cupped his chin, tilting his head up to look at them.

Roman looked back at him, a gentle yet concerned expression on his face.

"Virgil please talk to us, or if not us then someone else you trust." He said softly.

"Talking about problems out loud or explaining them so someone else can help people to figure out how to either fix or begin to deal with their problem," Logan said, "so Roman is right, if you don't feel comfortable talking about this with us then talk about it with someone else." He added.

Virgil bit his lip and looked away, staying silent.

An air of awkwardness settled around them as no one spoke for a while, just sitting quietly while thoughts, and worries, bubbled up in their minds.

Eventually Virgil sighed softly and curled in on himself.

"While we were out and about," he began softly, "she would make little off handed comments about me and my appearance." 

"A-and while we were at the restaurant she said I should stay away from sugary things and fruits and stuff o-otherwise I'd get chubby, or that I should work on not mumbling or stuttering cause what kind of king would I-I be if I stuttered." He said as he pressed his face into his forearms.

"And then before there was fath-Deceit," he continued, "and he'd always tell me I was getting chubby or fat and that I should stop baking so much while he was gone and stuff," he said, "F-Deceit also didn't like my mumbling or stuttering, and would always get angry if I stuttered, which would make me more anxious and I'd stutter more, which would make him angrier." Virgil said.

"I guess, after Kaitlyn brought it up I started thinking about it." He said. "I looked in the mirror and I noticed I was chubby, and I realized how pathetic I sound when I stutter and so I decided I wanted to fix that." He said. "And then...well I overheard some people in the park saying that men don't like chubby-ness, and thought....I just..."

"You thought we wouldn't like you if you were chubby." Roman cut in softly.

"...yeah." Virgil said, not moving from his curled up position.

"Oh sweetheart," Patton said softly as he shifted his hold to wrap around him securely.

"I feel like we should have put the lizard in her dress now." Roman said.

"I'm sorry the what?" Virgil asked as he lifted his head to look up at them, his eyes watery and red.

Roman smiled at him sadly. "We had talked about somehow putting a lizard down her dress, but agreed not to since we didn't want to hurt the lizard." He said. "But now though..." he paused, "I kinda wish we did."

"What she said about you, what Deceit said about you, isn't true," he continued, "even if you are chubby that's not a bad thing! We still love you no matter how you look or how you talk." He said.

"The idea of being chubby being negative is very close minded in my opinion." Logan said as he reached forwards and gently took one of Virgil's hands, "I for one don't mind whether or not your skinny or chubby, I am much more attracted to the personality, beliefs and mind of a person." He said as he gently squeezed Virgil's hand.

"And besides," Patton cut in, "I'm chubbier than you are V," he said, "does that make you love me less? Do you think that makes Logan and Roman love me less?" He asked.

"No pat of course not," he said, "everyone loves you." He added.

"Then you shouldn't be afraid of us loving you less because you're not skinny." Patton said. "We love you no matter what, and if someone tells you otherwise you can come find one of us and we'll show you how wrong they are."

"And stuttering is common and isn't something that can always be controlled or forced to go away," Logan said, "and the number of people who mumble is extremely high," he continued, "so there's nothing to worry about."

Roman slowly slid his hand from Virgil's chin to cup his cheek.

"You see? We love you no matter what," Roman said.

Virgil bit his lip and nodded slowly, not looking entirely convinced, but a bit more relaxed than earlier.

Patton, noticing how Virgil didn't seem fully convinced, carefully pulled his arms away from him.

"Virgil, can I do something?" He asked softly.

"Um...sure?" Virgil said hesitantly as he looked over at him.

"Thank you." Patton said. "Can you take your shirt and pants off?" He asked. "This is not a sexual thing." He added.

Virgil blushed brightly and shifted a little. "I-I don't-"

"Please?" Patton gently cut in, "no one here is going to judge you, you're perfectly safe here." He said, Roman and Logan nodding in agreement.

Virgil bit his lip, before hesitantly nodding. He began to slowly pull his shirt off, and carefully set it down next to him before also slipping his loose pants off, leaving him in nothing but his bothers as he curled up slightly while wrapping his arms around his stomach self-consciously.

Patton smiled at him. "Now can you lay with your head in either Roman or Logan's lap?" He asked.

Virgil looked at the two, an embarrassed flush creeping up on his cheeks.

Logan shifted slightly into a more comfortable position before gesturing for Virgil to lay down.

Virgil hesitantly laid down, putting his head on Logan's lap. Logan began to run his fingers through his hair and gently massage his scalp.

"Good, now Roman come here." Patton said, and Roman quickly leaned in.

He whispered something in Romans ear that made him smile and glance over at Logan and Virgil before the two pulled away.

"Logan, can you please hold Virgil's hands above his head?" Patton asked as he and Roman got on either side of where Virgil was laying. "Gentle enough so you don't hurt him, but strong enough so that he can't squirm away." He said.

Logan quickly complied, reaching forwards and gently grabbing ahold of Virgil's wrists before pulling them up above Virgil's head before Virgil could even protest to the idea of it.

Virgil's torso was now exposed, no longer self-consciously covered by his arms. But Virgil was blushing brightly and had his eyes closed so he couldn't see what they were doing while also shifting slightly in embarrassment.

Patton glanced over at Roman, before nodding slightly.

He leaned down and pressed a long but gentle kiss to Virgil's stomach, followed by another kiss a few inches away from that spot. "You're beautiful." He mumbled as he moved to kiss at Virgil's hip.

Roman had pressed a kiss to Virgil's stomach as well, before moving up to kiss his ribs and then his chest, mumbling compliments and phrases of endearment with each kiss.

The two of them continued to compliment him and pepper every inch of him with kisses, pressing the most to his thighs, stomach, chest and face.

Logan, also joining in now, began to press kisses to Virgil's hands, kissing each finger and each palm.

Virgil's face had become a bright red right away, his blush seeping into his ears to tint them red, along with seeping down into his shoulders. He made a small embarrassed whine sound in the back of his throat as they continued to kiss him.

"We love you."

"You're beautiful."

"And sexy."

"Stunning."

"Gorgeous."

"Adorable."

"I love you."

"We love you so much."

They continued to compliment and kiss him as Virgil squirmed a little, tugging at his arms to try and at least cover his face as a few tears began to well up in the corners of his eyes. But Logan wasn't having it, and kept his wrists in a secure but gentle hold above his head.

They continued to press kisses to his skin, muttering compliments and voice their affections before slowly pulling away.

Virgil looked up at them, his eyes red and full of bushes tears as he sniffed.

Logan gently let go of his wrists and helped him sit up before pulling him into his lap and holding him close.

“Do you understand now V? Do you believe us when we say that we care about you and not about what you look like?” Patton asked as he gently took hold of one of Virgil’s hands, Roman taking the other.

Virgil sniffed softly as he tucked his head under Logan’s chin and nodded. “Yeah, yeah I do.” He said softly with a watery smile.

“Good,” Roman said as he leaned forwards and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips. “If you ever forget then just come find one of us, okay?” He said after pulling away.

Virgil nodded again and squeezed Roman and Patton’s hands. “I will.” He said softly before closing his eyes and leaning closer to Logan, who tightened his hold on Virgil.

“We’ve gone through many emotions this evening and we are all most likely mentally exhausted,” Logan began softly as he pressed a kiss to Virgil’s temple, “I suggest we go to bed now.” He said.

“I can agree to that.” Virgil said softly as he nuzzled his nose against Logan’s neck.

Roman quickly got up and went around the room to turn off the lights, while Logan, Virgil, and Patton all got comfortable in bed, leaving a spot for him to fit into.

Logan pulled he blanket over them all when Roman was back in bed and heading Patton, who was snuggled up to Virgil, who was still in Logan’s arms.

“I love you guys.” Virgil said softly, and got a few kisses from Patton and words of agreement from Logan and Roman.

They all curled in close to one another, basking in each others love and warmth as they slowly drifted off.

-

Virgil was still kinda self conscious, but he was working on it, and the other three always took the time to reassure him and be there for him if needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was not supposed to be this long, it was supposed to be a short bonus chapter or something, but nope, almost 3000 words.  
Well, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I’m almost done with the next chapter (since it was the original 31) so it should be out soon!
> 
> Bye!


	41. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "the whole staff slowly figure out that they're in a relationship and try to keep it a secret that they know from the boys and the King and Queen so they end up with maids giving knowing looks, guards looking the other way when the boys go to Virgil's room, and just the staff acting like they don't know"
> 
> Ah, it has begun. The hjonkening, my brothers! Rise!!-  
Don't mind me.  
Anyway, people are starting to notice and find out, so it's only a matter of time before someone either snitches or someone important (*cough*cough*a parent*cough*) finds out.
> 
> Could chapter 30 have been a part of this chapter? Yes, yes it could have. Did I make it a part of this chapter? No, no I didn't. Did I have a good reason to not make it a part of this chapter? No. None whatsoever.
> 
> Anyway, on with the chapter.

Charles did known what to make of this.

Earlier that morning there had been a bit of a bit of a fiasco that had resulted in the prince having a panic attack in a nearby tea room, and Charles had been sent to help him while his parents took care of what had happened.

But by the time he got to the tea room, the door was cracked open and he could hear both harsh breathing and soft voices inside.

He peaked in through the crack to look and see who was there with the prince.

The prince was sitting on the floor in the back corner, curled up in a ball with his fingers tangled in his own hair, his breathing was fast and uneven, sucking in in small gasps and barely exhaling before sucking in another breath, and he had tears running down his face as he repeatedly mumbled about not being able to breath, not seeming to really notice the three other men in the room.

"Virgil, sweetheart," Charles thought his name was Patton, "Virgil can you hear me?" He asked softly.

"Virgil I need you to try and calm your breathing, okay?" Another one, Logan Charles though. "Can you tap your knee once if you can hear me?" He asked.

The seconds seemed to drag on before he moved one of his hands and shakily tapped his own knee with his pointer finger.

"Good Virgil," Logan said softly, "can you do a breathing exercise with me?"

Another tap.

"Okay, breath in for four seconds." Logan began, and when Virgil began to breath in he began to count to four slowly. His breathing was jagged and hitched.

"Hold it for seven seconds." He continued, and counted the seconds out loud when Virgil began to hold his breath.

"Now out for eight seconds." Logan said softly, before counting the seconds as Virgil began to breath out.

They did this several more times as Virgil's breathing became steadier and he uncurled himself from his ball.

He eventually told Logan he was fine, and pulled his hand away from his scalp before he began to wipe the tears off of his face with his sleeve, still sniffing a bit.

"Virgil, can I touch you?" The guy who'd been quiet this whole time, Roman, asked.

Virgil nodded slowly, and Roman scooted over to him, gently wrapping an arm around Virgil's shoulders.

Virgil leaned against him and tucked his head under Romans chin as he closed his eyes, his breathing still a little bit shaky.

Roman cooed softly and held Virgil close as he pressed gentle kisses to the top of Virgil's head while Patton reached out and gently squeezed Virgil's hand.

"It's all okay now love," Roman said softly, "none of that was your fault and everything's probably been taken care of by now, no one is angry or mad." He said as he carefully pulled Virgil into his lap.

Virgil shifted slightly, pressing himself as close to Roman as he could while still holding Patton's hand.

"B-but I-"

"But nothing," Roman interrupted him, "if anyone is mad at you over this they'll have to get through me to even get close to you." He said as he pressed a few more kisses to the top of his head while rubbing his back soothingly. "Okay?"

"...okay." Virgil said softly.

He felt a hand on his knee and smiled as Logan gave it a reassuring squeeze while Patton did the same to Virgil's hand.

"Thank you, sorry for-"

"Ah ba-ba-ba, don't apologize for a single thing mister," Patton said, pointing a finger at him, "don't you even dare."

Virgil laughed softly, a smile on his face as he turned his head so that he could look at Patton and Logan while still being tucked against Roman.

Logan leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Virgil's forehead, while Patton pressed a kiss to his knuckles.

"Want to go back up to your room and cuddle?" Roman asked softly, "then we can come back down when your parents want us to." He suggested.

Virgil nodded, "Yeah, I'd like that." He said, before turning his head to press a kiss to Romans jaw.

Charles stepped back from the doorway and quickly and quietly went to go inform the queen and king that Virgil was okay but was going to his room to relax for a bit and that he'd go get Virgil when they wanted him to.

-

James and Harriet were stationed outside of Virgil's bedroom one night, tasked with making sure no one entered the room and that the prince was protected.

It was nearly one in the morning when the door to the princes bedroom opened. 

He stepped out, still in his pajamas with his feet bare and hair messy.

He was hugging himself and he had tears welled up in his eyes.

The two guards were immediately concerned and quickly turned to him, James gently putting a hand on his boulder while Harriet went to go look for any sort of threat in his room.

"Your highness, what's wrong?" He asked softly. "Did something happen?" He asked.

Virgil shook his head, "n-no, I just need..." he trailed off, looking down as he bit his lip.

"Need what?" James asked.

"...I need to go somewhere," Virgil said, "can I?" He asked softly.

James hesitated, before slowly nodding. "If you're sure your okay, and will let me escort you there, then yes you may." He said.

Virgil nodded, and quickly began walking down the hall, with James following, Harriet quickly joining them as well.

Virgil walked down to a bedroom not far away, and gently knocked on the door.

He waited a few seconds before the door slowly opened, one of the princes friends standing there.

"Virgil?" Patton said as he yawned and rubbed his eyes, "What...?"

Virgil ignored what Patton was saying and quickly wrapped him in a hug, burring his face into the crook of Patton's neck, mumbling something to Patton that was too quiet for the guards to hear as he began crying.

Patton immediately hugged him back, whispering reassurances to him while rubbing his back.

He glanced at the guards, before leading Virgil into his room, closing the door behind him.

Although the two guards didn't miss the kiss he pressed to Virgil's temple before the door was closed all the way.

But the two said nothing, only taking position on either side of Patton's door.

Neither of them spoke a word about what happened.

-

Pete prided himself in being very observant. His attention to detail when it came to his kitchen and the foods he made was praised by many, and he took pride in their praises.

So when he noticed someone new in his kitchen, he was very intrigued.

It was a young man, probably a teenager still, with curly hair and glasses and the brightest smile Pete had ever seen.

"Good afternoon sir," the boy said with a wave.

"Good afternoon to you too." Pete said, "who might you be?" He asked.

"I'm patton!" He said, beaming at him, "one of Virgil's...friends." He said, a small flush coming up on his cheeks.

Now Pete didn't miss that, but he also didn't call him out on it. He didn't know why the boy blushed at that, but decided it wasn't important.

"It's nice to meet you Patton, my name's Pete," he said, "what can me and my kitchen do for you?" He asked.

"Well," Patton seemed to hesitate, "I was wondering if I could use a spot in your kitchen to do a bit of cooking?" He asked, looking up at him hopefully.

Pete mulled the request over. He usually didn't allow people to use his kitchen unless he knew they knew what they were doing, but this kid seemed like a good one...

"Of course," Pete said, "but if you make a mess than you need to clean it up." He added.

Patton quickly nodded in agreement, feeling like that was obvious.

Pete lead him over to an open are in the kitchens, told him the basic layout and where everything was, and said he could come to him for help if needed.

He then left Patton to his own devices, returning to his own duties for the time being.

Turns out the guy was making some sort of stew, and had asked where the spice cabinet was a while ago.

It smelled rather good if Pete was being honest, he'd seen chicken, chunks of tomatoes, tomatoes soup, black beans, chopped corn, a few types of cheese, roasted chili peppers, several species of various levels of spicy-ness, and various other ingredients enter the pot of stew he was making.

He was there for a while, keeping his area neat and clean when he wasn't stirring the pot, which Pete appreciated.

Eventually he took the pot off of the burner and quickly got a loaf of bread Pete said he could use, since it was a day old anyway, and began to slice it into thick slices before grabbing four bowls.

He set them onto the counter before quickly walking over to Pete.

"Can you make sure no one messes with those? I need to go get some people." He said with a bright smile.

Pete found himself unable to say no, and instead told him he'd watch and make sure no one went into his area while he went and got whoever it was.

He came back ten or so minutes later, followed by three other men, one of which was the prince.

"Holy heck pat you didn't." One of them said after he sniffed the air and smelled the stew.

"I did Roman," Patton said with a bright smile, "I wanted today to be special." He added.

"It was already special but you just made it ten times better." The guy, Roman, said before pulling pat into a big hug.

The tallest one, who had glasses like Patton, just smiled at the two from where he stood next to the prince, who looked confused.

The other male apparently noticed and began to explain.

"You know today is special because it's the day the three of us officially got together," he said to the prince, "but that soup has been a favorite to all three of us, especially Roman," Logan said as he gently held Virgil's hand.

"And you're going to share it with me?" Virgil asked softly.

"Of course we are, why wouldn't we?" Roman asked as he turned from where he was hugging Patton to look at Virgil.

Virgil blushed and glanced away, "Well, it's not o-our anniversary, so I didnt..." he trailed off, looking uncomfortable.

Patton cooed softly, "awe, V, you are as important as any of us on this day, even if it's not our anniversary," he said as he stepped forwards to cup Virgil's cheeks in his hands. "We want you to be a part of today." He added.

The prince nodded and moved forwards to hug Patton, who pressed a quick kiss to his temple before the two pulled away, only for the prince to receive two more quick kisses from the tall one and Roman, along with a hug from Roman.

Pete turned away and went back to his work after that, not paying them any mind as they went about serving and enjoying their stew, not mentioning a word about what happened to anyone.

-

Margery liked to think she knew most of what happened in her library and who came there. She knew where the mice liked to hide. She knew the daughter of the seamstress down the road came there every Tuesday at three to study in hopes of becoming a teacher. She knew that a fisherman she didn't know the name of came there every time he got in a fight with his wife to distract himself by reading myths and legends. She knew that a certain young adult with dark hair and glasses came there almost at random at least three times a week during the afternoon. He'd sit there, reading books for several hours and jotting down notes on loose pieces of paper. Logan she thought his name was.

She noticed when he brought people with him too. 

Another male with light curly hair and glasses, who would sit in Logan's lap while the latter read his books, seemingly content to just sit quietly.

Another who was a bit too loud for a library, but appeared to be a fan of the fantasy section, would also accompany Logan from time to time. He'd drag Logan there and ask him to read the books to him, even though Margery knew he could read on his own. The teen seemed to enjoy listening to Logan read to him. She noticed on many occasion when the guy was upset or in a bad mood that Logan would move them to sit together and would read to him stories of epic quests and adventure while the other leaned on his shoulder and slowly relaxed and his sour mood wore away.

Then she also saw him there with Prince Virgil. Now Virgil did come their on his own from time to time, but she saw him there with Logan more often than not. The prince was very curious about almost anything, and eagerly listened to Logan when he would talk about books he'd read. It had become a common occurrence for her to find them both asleep and leaning on one another while holding hands after several hours of the two being there.

She had her suspicions, but didn't voice anything. Her library was a safe space, and if the four of them felt safe here then she wasn't going to confront them.

-

Bailey had had their suspicions for a while now. They worked in the stables and in the gardens, and every now and then they'd see the prince with one or two or three men, who they also saw around the castle with the prince.

During their time working in the gardens they'd catch glimpses of them together, either cuddled up in shaded corners, or relaxing together under a tree. They saw them in pairs or in trios or all four of them together. They always looks so relaxed and peaceful together, and Bailey couldn't bring themselves to ruin 'the moment' when we they accidentally stumbled upon them, quickly ducking away so that they weren't seen.

They usually left them after that, and on multiple occasions they steered other servants away from where they were, coming up with some excuse or reason for them not to go that direction. 

Bailey knew that the four of them could probably take care of themselves, but they wanted to help anyways, seeing as any time they actual spoke with any of them, they were all kind and respectful and overall great company towards Bailey.

So they continued to secretly help out in little ways when they could, content knowing that they were hopefully helping the four of them.

-

Of course, many other members of the staff noticed, not everyone but a good handful of people. They all kept their mouths shut for the most part, except for the few who told others but basically swore them to secrecy, having only told them as a warning for if they saw anything during their daily duties.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tada, here is this.
> 
> Hopefully yalls like it, it was pretty fun to make.  
It's both short and long in my opinion, a nice medium length I'd say.
> 
> Anywho, I have the next two chapters already finished and such
> 
> I'll publish them in a few days, just to make yalls wait. 
> 
> (￣ω￣) Bwahaha 
> 
> Bye!!


	42. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Emile is bird/find bird Emile injured and they nurse him back to health"
> 
> This was a heavily requested prompt, so I hope you're ready.  
Emile is not the type of bird you think he'll be.  
Bwahaha  
Also  
There is blood and injuries in this  
Just a warning  
Anyway  
Here you go!

Patton woke up to cawing and rapid pecking on his window in the early morning.

He groaned softly as he sat up rubbing his eyes as he turned to look at the window.

"Remy?" He mumbled softly as he slipped out of bed and walked over to the window, pulling it open.

There stood Remy, who was stomping his feet impatiently.

Now Patton assumed that Remy would have gone to virgil, but since Virgil was out of the kingdom and was only returning today he guess that the bird decided to come to him instead.

"Remy what's wrong? Do you want to come in?" Patton asked as he moved to allow Remy inside.

Remy cawed at him before turning so that he was looking outside, before looking back at Patton and cawing again.

"...you want me to go outside?" Patton asked slowly.

Remy cawed and bobbed his head before stomping his feet again.

"Okay? Give me one second" Patton said, before moving to his closet.

Since it was now early September it was getting a bit chillier in the mornings, so he decided to grab a cloak since the sun was barely up and he was not ready for the chill morning air outside.

He debated on going out the window or going out through the actual castle. He might slip and fall in one option, or the guards might stop him in the other option.

He decided to try his luck with going through the castle.

Luck was on his side apparently, since no guards stopped him as he walked through the halls and out of the castle.

Remy was waiting for him right outside the door, and cawed at him once before flying a short ways away before stopping again.

Patton quickly caught on and began to quickly follow Remy, wondering what was wrong.

Remy quickly lead him to a small area of bushes along the edge of the gardens, before stopping and stomping his feet a little.

"What is it?" Patton asked as he crouched down next to Remy.

Remy cawed at him before ducking under the bushes, only his tail feathers poking out.

Patton carefully lifted a few of the branches up and looked underneath, only to gasp softly and frown.

Laying in the dirt under the bushes was a small bird. It had a box-ish shaped head with large eyes and a small sharp looking beak. It's feathers where a mixture of warm brown around its chest and back, fading into a light tan color around its legs, its wings were dark grey, and it had grey, white, and black markings on its head, along with black markings throughout the rest of its feathers. It had long scaly yellow feet with large black talons that looked very sharp.

Its chest was fluttering rapidly from where it lay collapsed on its side. It took Patton a second to see the problem, but he quickly noticed that one of the birds legs was baffle mangled and tangled up in a sharp looking wire, blood seeping out of the cuts the wire made and pooling in the dirt. The wound looked fresh, but also extremely painful and in really bed shape.

It looked up when it heard movement, and let out a chittering if small shrieks, its chest rising and falling faster as some of the feathers on its neck frilled up.

"Shhh shhh," Patton said softly, trying to calm down the injured bird. "It's okay, it's okay." He muttered softly, although it didn't seem to do much for the bird.

Remy cautiously hoped over, and let out a low rumble as it hunkered down next to the injured bird.

It seemed to help a little, the bird stopping its little shrieks, but it's breathing was still very rapid.

Patton quickly took his cloak off and folded it a few times.

He knew he wasn't prepared to help a bird of prey, especially an injured one, and he knew that a bite or scratch would be very painful due to its sharp beak and talons, but he couldn't just leave it there.

He put his hands under the folded cloak and slowly moved forwards. The bird quickly noticed and began to make small choppy shrieks again, but Patton just bit his lip and continued moving on.

When he was a few inches away he quickly wrapped the bird up in the cloak, holding its wings against the birds body while it shrieked and flailed for almost a minute. During that time it managed to cast Patton's arm with its good leg, making a long scratch down Patton's forearm that quickly began to gush blood. Patton hissed in pain as he bit his lip, not letting the bird go as it continued to flail, before slowly calming down and becoming still, still chittering.

Patton slowly shifted his hold on the bird so it was more secure before standing up, murmuring softly to the bird as he quickly made his way back to the castle, Remy quickly perching in his shoulder.

He quickly stumbled upon a pair of guards, and asked if they could help, explaining to them about the bird and how he wanted to help it.

One of the guards carefully to the bird, still wrapped in the cloak, and said he was going to go to their bird handler and see what she could do, while the other guard quickly lead Patton to the infirmary, his arm still bleeding quite a bit.

A doctor quickly cleaned his arm and added a salve it help keep any foe of infection away before wrapping it, telling him he was lucky he didn't need stitches, before also giving Patton some pain medicine.

When the doctor said he was good to go Patton quickly went and found the guard who had taken the bird.

He quickly asked if it was okay, and was relieved when the guard, James, told him that the bird would be fine and that their hunting bird handler would be able to help.

James agreed to take Patton there when he asked, but warned him that it would probably be a while before Patton would be able to see the bird.

He lead him upstairs and to a section of the castle he hadn't really been to, revealing a small aviary, filled with mostly pigeons, but there was another section that had a few hawks in it.

"She's taking care of the bird in that room over there," James said as he pointed to a closed door. "But you can wait out here until she's done." He added.

Patton nodded and thanked him before saying goodbye, since James needed to return to his duties.

He waited there for a long time, and had almost fallen asleep when the door finally opened, revealing a women who looked to be in her forties or fifties. She stood tall and strong, with skin the color of dark honey and short blonde hair that was slightly spiked up. She also had a scar going across one eye, which Patton quickly noticed appeared to be blind.

She looked at Patton as she stepped out of the room.

"So," she began, her voice sounding stern, "you the one that found the bird?" She asked, crossing her arms.

Patton gave a sharp nod. "Yes I am," He said as he stood up from his seat. "Is it okay?" He asked worriedly.

"Well," the woman began, "he's seen better days, that's for sure." She said. "The leg was too damaged, and would have done more harm to leave it on, so it needed to be amputated." She said.

Patton paled a considerable about, but she continued before he could say anything.

"He should be fine in a few weeks," she continued, "he might have trouble hunting now though." She added.

"Is there anyway I can help?" Patton asked.

She looked at him with a calculating gaze, eyeing him up and down before looking away.

"Only if you're willing to work to help." She said.

"Anything," Patton said, "I really want to help." He added.

She paused. "Well, if that's the case then we'll need to get you started." She said. "If you want to help then I'll need to show you how to handle birds of prey." She said.

Patton nodded, "Okay," he said, "thank you..." he trailed off, not knowing her name.

"Molly," she said, "Molly Mott, I'm in charge of all of our messenger and hunting birds here at the castle." She said.

"I'm Patton," patton said.

"Well Patton, lets get you started." She said.

-

Patton was quickly swept up in his new lessons. Of course he explained everything to Roman and Logan later that day, and then explained it to Virgil that evening, quickly reassuring them that he was fine and the the bird was fine as well.

Every day Patton would go to Molly and she would train him how to handle birds of prey, giving him a pair of thick leather gloves and a few other tools to help him so that he didn't get hurt.

She brought out two of her oldest birds to teach him, a red tailed hawk named Alastair, and a sharp-shinned hawk named Arrow. She had him train with Arrow, since he was similar in size to the bird Patton had rescued, which was a Kestrel.

He leaned how to safely handle the birds of prey, and also took special training to show him how he could help the kestrel he'd saved in particular since he was missing a leg now.

It wasn't until almost a month of lessons that he was finally able to work with the kestrel.

Obviously it needed to be trained, which Molly helped him with, but the bird seemed to quickly warm up to Patton, and also seemed to be a quick learner, picking up everything Patton and Molly taught it much faster than either of them were expecting.

Molly eventually told him he'd need to name the bird so that it could learn to respond to its name, along with the other signals she and Patton had taught the bird.

Patton thought about it long and hard, and even went to his boyfriends for suggestions, but eventually decided on Emile, having come across the name in a book he'd read with Logan not that long ago.

Emile and Patton quickly became attached to one another, going almost everywhere together. Patton had gotten into the habit of wearing his long leather gloves and carrying small dried cricket and grasshopper treats for Emile with him on the daily bases.

Of course Remy and Emile also became close friends, and would spend plenty of time together as well, even though Remy had to be careful not to bump Émile if they got to excited, or else he might knock him over with his weakened balance.

Emile eventually warmed up to Roman, Logan and Virgil as well, and was soon permitted to travel throughout the castle as long as he was with Patton. This rule was quickly extended to Virgil as well, allowing him to bring Remy inside as long as he didn't leave him alone.

Patton and Emile where almost never seen apart at this point, the two of them doing everything together when they could, which his boyfriends found rather adorable for the most part.

Of corse there were still plenty of bumps along the way, for both patton and Emile, with Patton still getting used to the bird of prey, and Emile still getting used to both Patton and to missing a leg.

But they had each other now, and despite the bumps they were both determined to take on any challenges that arose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this took a turn I wasn't really intending.
> 
> But yeah, I almost made Emile a dove or a sparrow or something, but thought it'd be cool to make him a bird of prey instead. Of course, a kestrel isn't the biggest I could have made him, I almost made him a red tailed hawk, but decided against it.
> 
> Hopefully yalls like this chapter, the next one is already done and will be out soon!
> 
> Bye!


	43. Chapter 34

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Virgil has a nightmares about Patton dying. How about how Patton, Roman and Logan comfort Virgil that Patton and all of them are safe and that he won't lose any of them."
> 
> There will be some amounts of biting, snakes, character death, and such forth in this, I apologize.  
In this deceits lies with be underlined.

Virgil cradled Patton in his arms, opening crying as he held him closer.

"Don't leave me, please please please don't leave me," he said through shuddering breaths and hiccups as tears ran down his face.

"Wake up, please Patton wake up, don't leave me, don't leave us, I-I can't-" he gently shook Patton, but got no response.

With shaking hands he checked for a pulse, but found none. Patton's body was cold and stone grey and suddenly began to crumble away.

He cried out slightly and clutched at Patton, trying to hold him together, begging him to stay, but then he was gone, crumbled away into nothing.

Virgil weeped, hunching over and curling in on himself as he cried.

"You." An angry voice in front of him suddenly said.

Virgil jerked his head up and saw Logan and Roman standing over him, tears running down their angry faces.

"Guys-" He was cut off by Roman stepping forwards.

"You killed him! He loved you and all you did was kill him, we should have just left you when you gave us the crown, we could have had our happy ending somewhere else, just the three of us." Roman said as his skin began to crack and fall apart.

"You killed him, you killed us, how does that make you feel Virgil," Logan spat the name out like it disgusted him, "You killed the first people who ever loved you, the only people who ever loved you and will ever love you!" Logan's skin began to crack and crumble as well.

"N-no no no, I didn't kill you, you're not dead- I-" Virgil stuttered as he stumbled to his feet, reaching out for them, only for them to crumble away into dust just like Patton had, disappearing into the dark nothingness around them.

"No!" He cried out as he collapsed to his knees, a fresh wave of tears welling up in his eyes and spilling down his cheeks.

"Well well well," a new voice, a familiar voice, said in the darkness, the sound echoing around him and filling his head.

"I wanted to say I told you so, but I didn't told you so." The voice said again.

"Looks like my pretty little flower wasn't plucked from his pot and isn't all wilted and dead, what a shame."

A loud slithering sound could be heard as well.

"You really shouldn't have stayed in our tower, my little flower, all of this would have happened if you hadn't just stayed inside, with me."

Sudden his father stepped out of the darkness in front of him, making him gasp and scramble back.

He looked more snake-like, with yellow eyes with slits for pupils, and sickly green scales covering half of his face, and what looked like long fangs in his mouth.

Deceit pouted playfully.

"Aww, did I not scare you, little flower?" He asked in a disgustingly sweet voice as he circled around Virgil, revealing that the lower half of his body was that of a snake.

"you know, if you hadn't just stayed with me you would have most definitely met those three, and you would have broken your heart," he continued, "and you would have killed them," he moved closer to Virgil, wrapping around him, Virgil not putting up any struggle at all.

"It's not all your fault Virgil, my sweet little flower." He said as he leaned in close to Virgil's terrified and tear stained face, wrapping his body tighter around Virgil.

"Virgil? Virgil sweetheart wake up!"

"If only you hadn't listened." He said, his face only an inch away from Virgil's now.

"It's just a dream virgil!"

"You shouldn't know by now Virgil," Deceit reared his head back, bearing his fangs.

"Wake up! Virgil!"

"Father doesn't know best."

He lunged forwards and sunk his large fangs into Virgil's neck-

Virgil jerked forwards and sat up with a harsh gasp, breathing heavily and shaking.

His gaze shakily jerked around the room and he saw the worried faces of Patton, Roman and Logan sitting around him.

His face was wet from tears and he felt clammy and cold.

He began crying again after a few gasping breaths, and Patton quickly reached forwards.

"Hey hey, it's okay," he said softly, his hands hovering over Virgil's skin.

"I-it's all my- it's a-all my f-fault, A-all my m-my fault," Virgil began mumbling as he continued to cry, repeating himself over and over.

"Nothing is your fault, you just had another nightmare Virgil," Roman said softly.

"Virgil, sweetheart, can I touch you?" Patton asked.

Virgil hiccuped softly and nodded his head as he trembled slightly.

Patton gently wrapped Virgil up in a hug, pulling him close as he rubbed his back.

Virgil held onto Patton tightly, still crying as he buried his face against Patton's chest.

"Shhh shhh, Virgil, it's okay, you just had another nightmare."

"Y-you were dead, I couldn't save-save you, and it was all my fault, a-and then Roman and Logan d-died to and they were so mad a-at me, and then my fa-father my- Deceit showed up and said it was a-all my fault and it is- it is, and then he bit m-me and then I-I-I..." Virgil trailed off into a spluttering mess of hiccups and sobs, holding onto Patton tighter.

Patton looked up at Roman and Logan with a sad expression, before gesturing for them to come closer.

Although it didn't happen often, virgil would occasionally have nightmares about the day they'd saved him from his father, where Patton almost died. It broke their hearts to see him like this. He'd usually go to Patton's room if they happened on nights they weren't together.

"Oh sweety, I'm fine, see?" Patton said, "you're holding onto me right now, and I'm breathing and warm," he continued, "can you feel my heartbeat? Can you hear it?"

Virgil hiccuped softly and pressed his ear against Patton's chest, and was greeted by the soft and soothing sound of his beating heart. He nodded shakily, and Patton smiled.

"There, you see? I'm just fine." He said. "Now can you feel Romans hand? See how warm he is?" He asked as he gestured for Roman to gently touch Virgil's back.

Virgil nodded again, feeling Romans warm hand against his back through the thin material of his shirt.

"And can you feel Logan's hand as well?" Patton asked as he gestured for Logan to do the same as Roman, "does it feel warm like Roman and me?"

Virgil nodded again, taking a shake deep breath.

"That's good," Patton said.

"They wouldn't be warm if they were dead, right?" He asked as he gently rubbed Virgil's back. "Can you turn and look at them for me?" He asked.

Virgil hesitated, biting his lip nervously.

"Please? For me?" Patton asked softly, gently trailing his fingers down Virgil's cheek.

Virgil waited a few seconds before hesitantly nodding. He shifted in Patton's lap, slowly turning so that he was facing Logan and Roman, although he didn't look at them.

"Darling?" Roman said softly as he hesitantly reached forwards and cupped Virgil's cheek, lifting his chin so that he was looking at them.

"Virgil, we would never be mad at you for something like that." Roman said, "if...if Patton had died that day we wouldn't have blamed you, we love you and would have never even had the though of it being your fault cross our minds."

"It would be highly illogical for us to pin the blame for something like that on you when it was clearly Deceit who would have been to blame." Logan said as he gently took hold of Virgil's hand.

Virgil sniffed softly and nodded, reaching up with his free hand to wipe his tears away.

"Sorry for waking you up a-and freaking out." He said, his voice sounding wet and rough. "I feel stupid..." he mumbled.

"Hey, no, don't start that again." Patton said softly as he snaked his arms around Virgil's waist and held him closer. "We don't mind you waking us up if it means we can help to comfort you." He said as he nuzzled against Virgil's neck.

"And you're not stupid for having nightmares." Logan added, "nightmares are a common response to traumatic events, and Patton almost dying was indeed very traumatic." He said, shuddering slightly.

"Never think its stupid, and never think you're stupid because of something like this," Roman said as he leaned forwards and pressed his forehead against Virgil's.

Virgil blushed and nodded slightly as he closed his eyes, feeling more tears begin to well up.

"Okay." He said softly.

They sat there for a few minutes, calming down and grounding each other by just being there.

"We should go back to bed," logan said softly, "you have things to do in the morning," he added, although he thought it would be best for Virgil to skip and have a mental health day.

"You're right," Virgil said softly as he slowly opened his eyes. "Cuddle with me?" He asked softly.

"Do you even need to ask," Roman said with a smile as he laid down.

Logan and Patton laid down as well, the latter pulling Virgil down with him and snuggling up against him as he held him close.

"Sweet dreams." He mumbled softly.

Roman curled up on Virgil's other side, letting Virgil press his face against his chest as Roman draped his arm across both him and Patton.

Logan had his arms wrapped around Roman, with one of his hands holding Virgil's as he pressed a kiss to Romans neck.

Virgil didn't know who pulled the blankets up over them, feeling both too sleepy and still shaken. It took him a long time to doze off, the feeling of Patton hold him, hearing Romans heart beat, and feeling Logan occasionally squeeze his hand helping him eventually fall asleep.

He and the others slowly fell back asleep, taking comfort in one another and feeling loved and safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So.  
Angst I guess.  
Hopefully you guys like it! I kinda suck at writing the panic-y moments despite being a very panic-y person myself, so hopefully it wasn’t cringy or horribly inaccurate and all that Jazz.
> 
> Anyway, the next chapter is already done and will be out soon! I only posted this chapter today cause I’m feeling kinda down, I had plans to wait and post it in a day or two, but eh.
> 
> Bye!


	44. Chapter 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "One of the parents realizes or finds out they're dating" (it's the dad)
> 
> Ah it's finally happening.  
Are yalls ready? Cause it's happening.
> 
> This one will be short, since it's just him noticing everything and such. There won't be any confronting Virgil about it in this chapter.
> 
> Note: The king and queen aren't going to act anything like they do in the movie/show. I probably should have said that earlier but it's to late now.

King Fredrick noticed more things than people thought. He knew he was usually seen as a very laid back easy going king. He wasn't a stern stone cold ruler, and always made sure to collect all of his facts before making any important decisions.

Which is what he was doing now.

His son, Virgil, had returned a day after his birthday in on May 13th, with a trio of thieves who had apparently rescued him from his original kidnapper all those years ago. 

The four of them where very close despite having only know each other for a short amount of time, and it was more common to see at least two of them together than it was to see any of them alone.

So Fredrick did a little poking around.

The four of them seemed closer than he had originally thought, taking care of one another when needed or just being there.

It wasn't until he saw them all cuddled together underneath a tree in the garden that he began to think their relationship was something more than platonic.

At one point he managed to see Patton and Logan kissing, so he assumed those two were dating

Then he saw Virgil kissing Roman, and although it was a bit surprising he eventually came to the conclusion that they were together as well.

Then he stumbled upon Virgil, Roman and Logan tucked away into a corner in a shadowed hallway. To be fair, it was a fairly unused hallway. The two of them had the dark haired teen pressed against the wall while they lavished his neck with long and sweet kisses, drawing out small gasps every now and then from the taller male.  
Fredrick quickly left, feeling incredibly awkward.

But now he was slightly confused as to who was with who now. He had seen various pairs and trips of the four of them, and there didn't seem to be any tense conflict.

It wasn't until he saw them in one of these cuddle sessions, with his son and one of the three -Patton- kissing in the garden with Logan and Roman happily curled around the pair, that he was certain it wasn't platonic and that maybe, just maybe, the four of them where together.

Of course he learned and saw all of these things over time, seeing as it was now mid August and his son had come home in May. He didn't just notice everything in one day or a week or something.

But, to respect Virgil and his decisions, he decided to not talk about it with him -or his mother- yet, wanting to wait and see if Virgil would come tell him first.

It wasn't until late August that he decided he might need to step in and ask Virgil about it himself.

And maybe he would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, really short chapter.  
This also semi-ties in with the next chapter, which I bet you can guess what the prompt is.
> 
> Anywho, I'm almost done with that chapter, or I might already be done but I'm just making you wait.
> 
> It’s the weekend now and I no longer need to worry about online classes for two days and it feels amazing. I’ll be able to write more of your guys requests now as well.
> 
> The next chapter will be out soon, don't worry!
> 
> Bye!


	45. Chapter 36

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Virgil and father bonding (without mom knowing)"  
And   
"Virgil asks about mom not liking him"
> 
> Who knows how long this chapter is gunna be.
> 
> Get ready for some father son bonding, acceptance, and supportiveness.

PLEASE READ THIS PORTION OF TEXT:

So I previously said that chapter 36 would be the chapter where they have sex and all, that is no longer the case. That chapter has been shoved forwards to be chapter 38 (parts 1-3) now, chapters 36 and 37 involve the parents.  
Thank you for reading.

Virgil rode alongside his father on Thomas' back, fiddling with his mane.

"So," he began slowly, "where exactly are we going?" He asked.

"Somewhere." His father replied with a smile as gently stroked the mane of his own horse.

"Where is somewhere?" Virgil asked.

"Out there." The king said as he gestured down the path ahead of them.

"So you're not going to tell me?"

"Nope, you'll just have to wait." He said with a small laugh.

The two of them continued to ride along, chatting about random things. Eventually the path plead out of the forest and into an area of small grassy yellow hills.

His father lead Virgil across a couple of small hills until they reached one with a short lanky tree on it. His father got off his horse and gestured for Virgil to follow him.

The two of them walked up to the top of the small hill and carefully sat down beneath the tree.

They were both silent for quite some time, the king thinking and Virgil not knowing what to say.

"I used to come here with your mother," he began softly, "when we were less busy." He said.

"The fields were always lush with fresh grass and wild flowers, with a warm breeze and the bright shining sun above us."

"Obviously it's not like that at this time of year," he continued, "but it's still beautiful and holds important memories for me."

Virgil stayed silent, listening to him with a curious expression.

"We'd come here if we were ever stressed or needed to get away for a day, or if we needed to have a private talk that absolutely no one else had the right to hear." He continued.

"I proposed to her here." He said softly as he ran his hand along with dry yellow blades of grass next to them. "I had set it up to be just a casual night to watch the stars and have a picnic, she didn't expect a thing." He said with a small laugh.

There was a stretch of silence for a few seconds.

"You love them don't you." The king said softly, turning to look at Virgil.

Virgil jerked and sat up straight in surprise, "l-love who?" He asked cautiously, looking anywhere but his father.

"Your three friends, Roman, Logan and Patton." The king said softly. "You all love each other, don't you."

Virgil was staring at him now, panic clearly flashing across his face.

"I-I don't, I mean, kinda? I-I mean...Maybe? we just...." he stumbled over his words, and stopped for a second to take a breath and look away, "I-I'm sorry...." Virgil said softly.

His father smiled, and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, Virgil going silent as his cheeks flushed cherry red.

"You have nothing to apologize for," he said, "I'm not mad at you."

Virgil's snapped to look up at him, "You're not?" Virgil asked.

His father shook his head, "no I'm not," he said, "although I would have liked it if you came and told me and your mother yourself." He said.

"Mom knows?" Virgil asked.

"No she doesn't," His father said, "but I'm sure she'd appreciate it if you told her." He added.

Virgil bit his lip and fidgeted with the hem of his shirt slightly. "...what if she's mad?" He asked softly.

"Why do you think she'd be mad?" His father asked.

"I don't know, I just..." Virgil paused for a second, before bringing his knees up to his chest and curling up slightly. "I don't think she likes me much." He said softly.

The surprised Virgil's father. Virgil's mother, Arianna, had been so happy when their son had come back, he hadn't seen her as happy as she was now in years.

"Why do you think that?" He asked as he moved his hand from Virgil's shoulder to his back.

"She's always so...serious and proper about things," Virgil began slowly, "she seems to have expectations for me that I just can't seem to ever meet," he continued, "...some times I think she would have been happier if I hadn't come back." He added quietly, his voice barely louder than a whisper.

His father frowned. "Well, I can assure you she wouldn't be happier of you hadn't come back." He said.

"Your mother had been so happy when we found out she was pregnant," he began, "she began making a list of possible names, and had the room next to ours converted from a study in a nursery for you, and filled it with soft rugs and large squishy pillows. She and I hand painted the walls inside to room to look like an forest, and painted the ceiling with clouds and a sun." He continued, smiling fondly at the memories of them painting and accidentally making a mess.

"Then she grew very ill as it became close to having you, but she was more concerned about you than she was about herself. She was scared something had gone wrong or that she had done something wrong and you weren't going to make it, but then we found that flower and saved you both."

"I sat next to her bedside as she held you in her arms, only a few hours old with the brightest amethyst eyes and the shiniest tufts of golden hair atop your head." He said as he glanced at Virgil.

"She loved you, we both loved you so much." He continued, "you were our son, so small and full of joy, and we couldn't wait to watch you grow up." His father paused as he frowned at that.

"But you never did." Virgil said softly.

His father shook his head, "no, we never did." He said.

"When we heard you crying that night, and rushed in to see what was wrong, only to find a man taking you away, your mother and I were devastated, your mother especially."

"She immediately sent out search parties, and would have gone out to look for you herself if I hadn't stopped her. She was still recovering from the pregnancy, and running around in panic could have hurt her."

"She sent out the search parties every month for years, looking for you in every kingdom we could get to, trying to find you, but we never did."

"By the time you would have been seven she had begun to give up." He continued, "she hadn't been the same since you were taken, she'd grown more serious and all she could do was try and find you. I woke up several times to find her sitting in the nursery with a small doll her mother had given her that she had planned to give to you. But as the years went on and she began to lose hope of ever finding you, she became worse. She became distant from everyone, even me and her closest friends."

"She didn't want to have another baby, she told me that if she tried all she'd be able to do was think about you and that wouldn't be good attitude to have towards the baby if she were to have another."

"She eventually got better, she reconnected with some of her friends, and began to smile more."

"But I had never seen her smile so much and as big as she did when you came back." His father said softly as he wrapped his arm around Virgil.

"She kept it behind closed doors, but I saw every little shining glimmer of happiness, every time she smiled till her cheeks turned pink." He said with a fond smile. "She even cleaned out the nursery, even though she knew you wouldn't need it."

"She didn't want anyone to ever treat you differently because of how and where you grew up, which is why she insisted on having you take all these lessons, and wear shoes and not climb about." He continued. "She didn't want anyone to ever judge you and wanted you to be the best you could be."

"Of course she went a bit overboard and tried a little too hard, but she's toned some things down." He said with a small laugh.

"She feels awkward though. She doesn't know you anymore, not that she ever got the time to know you before. She doesn't know how to act around you now that you're here after all these years and all grown up, and yes she should probably work on that." He admitted.

"She has always liked you and will always like you though, I can assure you if that." His father continued. "She gushes about all of your accomplishments when it's just the two of us, she fawns over you from a distance, too nervous to get any closer."

"I think that she thinks you're going to disappear again one day and doesn't want to get to close to you so that it doesn't hit her as hard if you do." He added softly. "I could be wrong on that, she might just have horribly awkward, but I'm almost certain that she couldn't bounce back from loosing you again. I don't know if I could either." he finished quietly, looking down at his lap.

The two sat in silence for a few moments, before Virgil sniffed slightly and shifted to lean against his father.

"I promise I'll never leave." He said as he hurried his face in his father's shoulder. "If I ever do 'disappear' I'll do everything I can to get back to you both."

"I'm sure you will," his father said as he held Virgil closer, "but don't forget about those boys of yours, you'll need to come back to them to."

Virgil blushed slightly and smiled as he nodded. "I know, although I'm sure they'd come get me before I could get back to them." He added.

They sat in comfortable silence after that, Virgil still held against his father in a one armed hug.

"You should tell your mother sooner than later," he began softly, "I can assure you she won't mind, she might actually be happy in a way."

"Happy?" Virgil asked in confusion.

"Yes, she could finally send decline letters to the ever growing stack of suitors she's been getting mail from." He said. "She and I have been extremely hesitant about letting you see anymore suitors after what happened with Miss Kaitlyn." He said. "She doesn't want you to get hurt for for someone to just try and use you."

A small shudder went down Virgil's spine as he remember Kaitlyn, before smiling. "I'm sure Roman, Logan, and Patton will appreciate her doing that, they got very jealous." He said with a smile and flushed cheeks.

"I'm not surprised, from what I can remember being told to me she was basically pushing herself onto you any chance she got."

"Maybe a little." Virgil said with a small laugh, "they took care of it though." He said with a fond smile that his father didn't miss.

"You really do love them don't you." His father said softly.

"Yeah, yeah I really do." Virgil said, his voice just as soft.

The two sat there for quite a bit of time, just chatting and enjoying their time together before heading back to the castle.

Virgil, after wishing his father goodnight, went to Romans room, where he found his three boyfriends curled up and half asleep.

They quickly pulled him into their cuddle pile, and he told them about his day.

All three where surprised about his father having figured it out, but where happy that he wasn't angry or anything.

They agreed to help him figure out what to say to his mother, since he agreed with his father on her deserving to know now that his father knew.

He fell asleep that night, contently curled up with Roman against his chest, most of his worries laid to rest for the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here was this.   
Hopefully yalls enjoyed it.
> 
> The next chapter will be out soon.
> 
> And a change of plans, Chapter 38 (parts 1-3) are the chapters with sex in it. Just a fair warning.


	46. Chapter 37

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: 'queen finds out about Virgil and his boyfriends' and ' queen loses a bet and gets pouty'
> 
> Tada, here yalls go.  
Hopefully yalls like this chapter, it shouldn't be super long but more than 500 words at least, probably more than 1000, but who knows.
> 
> Anyway  
hope yalls enjoy!

Virgil knocked on the tea rooms door gently.

"Come in." A voice called from inside.

Virgil carefully opened the door and stepped inside. His mother and father were sitting at the small table near the windows, a plate of cookies and a pot of tea between them.

"Ah Virgil," his father said as he smiled at him. "Come have a seat." He said, gesturing to the open spot next to him.

Virgil nodded and sat down next to his father, fiddling with his sleeve a little.

"Would you like any tea dear? Or a cookie?" His mother asked. "It's raspberry tea and mint cookies with chocolate." She added.

"I'll have some tea, thank you." He said with a small smile.

"So," His mother began as she poured him a bit of tea, "what did you want to talk to us about?" She asked. "And do you want any sugar? Cream tastes awful in this tea." She added.

"Um, no sugar please," Virgil said, "and I wanted to talk to you about, um, something I-I've been keeping from you." He said slowly.

"Oh? And what's that?" His mother asked curiously.

Virgil shifted a little in his seat, glancing at his father who smiled at him reassuringly.

"I, uh, I wanted to tell you that I don't want to see any more suitors." He said slowly.

She raised an eyebrow. "And why is that?" She asked as she set his cup of tea down in front of him, "we can't be rude and have you decline just because you don't want to."

Virgil picked up the cup of tea with slightly shaky hands, holding it tightly.  
"I uh, I-I...well you see, um," Virgil stumbled over his words of a few seconds before taking a small deep breath squeezing his eyes shut. "I'mkindaalreadyinarelationshipI'msorryIdidn'ttellyousooner." He quickly said, ducking his head a little.

The queen blinked for a second. "Can you, um, say that again?" She asked slowly as she glanced over at her husband with a confused expression, who only smiled at her before putting a reassuring hand on Virgil's shoulder.

Virgil shifted slightly, not looking at her as he mumbled and set his tea down on the table .

"I, um, I'm already in a....in a relationship." He said softly, chewing on his lip as he nervously popped his knuckles. "Sorry for not telling you..." he added.

"Oh, well," His mother said as she picked at her nails awkwardly. "I wasn't expecting this," she began. "But it's quite alright."

"Yes I would have liked it if you had told me sooner, but it's okay." She said. "For how long?"

"A few months." Virgil said as he looked up at her.

"Before the first suitors?" She asked.

Virgil nodded, a small blush on his cheeks.

"Oh Virgil, if you had told us we wouldn't have made you go see them." She said.

"It's okay," Virgil said, "they were nice and understood when I told hem I wasn't interested in that kind of way." He said, leaving out the Kaitlyn incident.

"Well that's good," His mother said.

"Now you can finally send those letters to the other suitors and tell them he's unavailable." His father said with a smile.

"That's true," she said with a smile. "I don't know if you knew Virgil, but you are very popular." She said, "multiple people haven sent in suitor requests."

Virgil blushed a little and smiled shyly. "Well, tell them that I'm flattered in the letters." He said.

His mother laughed softly as she took another sip of her tea.

"So," she began after a few moments of content silence. "Who's the lucky girl?" She asked.

Virgil stiffened slightly and glanced over at his father, biting his lip nervously, which is mother didn't miss.

" or boy." She quickly added, "or person, I suppose." She said, thinking about Bailey, the non-binary employee they had and how they were around Virgil's age.

"Your okay with me not being with a girl?" Virgil asked, slightly surprised.

"Well, yes." She said, "I did let you go see prince Aaron when he was a suitor didn't I?" She asked. 

"I also have a female cousin who is a duchess and is married to a woman, and if I told you that you couldn't be with someone because that person wasn't a girl, well she'd march on over here and would surely give me a piece of her mind." She said with a small laugh. "It is a little uncommon, at least in royalty, and some people will most definitely judge you and your partner, but you don't have to worry about any of that judgment from me." She said.

Virgil relaxed a little bit. "You don't know how worried about that I was." He said with a small laugh as he rubbed his face.

"Well, I might have some idea," His mother said, "my cousin did end up coming out to me and the rest of our family when we were both around your age or a little younger." She said.

"But could you tell me who it is now? I'd like to meet them if I don't already know them." She added, a very curious expression on her face.

Virgil hesitated slightly. "You know my friends? Roman, Logan, and Patton?" He asked.

"Yes I know them," she said, "is your partner one of them?" She asked.

"Um...i-it's all of them..." Virgil said as he looked down at his hands and picked at his nails nervously, occasionally glancing up at her.

"Oh," She said, "all three?" She asked, glancing between Virgil and her husband.

"Uh, yeah, all three of them." Virgil said, his cheeks turning red.

She huffed and her arms, pouting while her husband grinned.

"And now Virgil, I have one the bet." His father said with a grin.

"Bet?" Virgil asked, looking up at the two of them in confusion.

"Your mother and I made a bet, where I bet that you were with at least one of your friends, and she bet that you were with someone in the castle staff." He said. "And now I have won." He said.

"So you both assumed I was already with someone?" He asked.

"Well, yes," His mother said, "we had our assumptions, but we didn't want to you to be uncomfortable so we decided to wait until you were ready to tell us." She said, "we also knew we could have been wrong and you might have just not wanted to be in a romantic relationship." She added.

"So you're okay with me dating the three of them?" He asked.

"Yes we're both okay with it, although we do want you to be careful with 'public displays of affection', we don't want to shock some poor staff member." His father said, laughing as Virgil blushed.

"We'll also have to set up a few new rules," His mother said. "and we'd like to talk to them as well." She added.

"But that can wait for later," His father said, "you can go tell your boys the good news though." He added before turning to grin at his wife, "in the mean time I'll have my winnings to collect." He said cheekily.

She huffed and rolled her eyes, "oh be patient." She said. "He's right though, I'm sure they're eagerly awaiting your return." She said with a smile.

Virgil nodded as he smiled back, "Alright," he said as he stood up. "I'll see you both later," he said as he quickly made his way to the door, waving goodbye.

-

He found the three of them in their spot in the gardens, where they told him they'd be waiting.

Roman was sitting between Logan's legs, draped back against the others chest with his eyes closed, Logan's arms wrapped around his waist while the two argued about something. Patton sat next to them, making a chain of daisies and laughing as the two continued to argue. Remy and Emile where up in the tree, contently perched on a branch and watching everything from above.

Virgil smiled as he stood and watched them for a few seconds, feeling his heart swell a little with each passing second.

Patton, who had turned to find another daisy after laughing at something Roman said, was the first to notice Virgil standing there. He smiled brightly and reached a hand out to him.

Virgil walked over and gently took his hand before moving to sit behind Patton, hooking his chin over his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around his stomach and held him close.  
"whats up?" He asked as he pressed a few playful kisses to Patton's shoulder and neck.

Patton smiled and leaned back against him, "Roman and Logan are 'arguing'." He said as he tilted his head back to press a kiss to Virgil's cheek.

"The only one arguing here is Roman." Logan said, a small hint of a blush on his cheeks.

"That can wait for later," Roman said as he sat up a little, bit stayed where he was against Logan's chest. "How did it go?" He asked Virgil, the other two quieting down and looking over at Virgil as well.

Virgil smiled and rubbed his cheek against Patton's shoulder. "They're okay with it." He said softly.

Both Roman and Patton gasped, and wide grins split across their faces, a slightly smaller but still excited smile on Logan's face as well. 

"Really?" Patton asked as he twisted in Virgil's hold to look at him.

"Really." Virgil said with a smile.

Patton squealed quietly before tackling Virgil in a hug, knocking him down onto his back.

Virgil laughed and hugged Patton back, staying there for a few more seconds before pushing himself up so they were both sitting again.

He looked over at Roman and Logan, the latter of which had a slightly smug grin on his face.

"I told you so." Logan said as he looked down at Roman, who pouted at him for just a second before the grin reappeared across his face, unable to push down his excitement.

"Shut up specs." He said before leaning up and pressing a kiss to Logan's jaw.

"They have some new rules they want to discuss with us," Virgil said after a second or two, "and they want to talk to the three of you, but both of them are okay with us being together." He said.

"Does that mean we can actually spend the whole night cuddling? And wake up together? And have morning kisses" Patton asked, growing more and more excited.

Virgil laughed softly, "yes it does Pat." He said as he pressed a kiss to Patton's cheek.

The four of them continued to discuss how things where going to be now, agreeing to still keep their relationship private from the rest of the kingdom and the castle staff, while still being a bit more open, agreeing that small and simple displays of affection where okay in the open.

-

Virgil was laying in bed, with Roman snuggled up against his chest. Patton was behind Roman and Logan was behind Patton, all of them contently tangled together under the blankets with only the moonlight letting them see one another.

"I love you." Virgil said as he pressed a kiss to the top of Romans head, smiling as the latter mumbled sleepily and snuggled closer.

"We love you too." Patton said softly, speaking for the three of them since Roman and Logan were basically asleep already.

Virgil smiled and reached forward to gently hold Patton's hand as they both began to drift off, not needing to worry about waking up early so that they weren't caught.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So ta-da, here's this chapter! Hopefully you guys like it!!! And hopefully it wasn't to cringe.
> 
> I'm making an Authors note chapter that'll be out tomorrow, explains stuff about chapters 38 parts 1-3 and asking some more questions.
> 
> Bye!!


	47. Question for the masses

So I've been squeezing in chapters that can happen before these chapters happen, which is why they're now chapter 38 instead of 36.

But the next chapter will have sex in it.  
I'm not going to make it vague or anything while writing it.

Which is why I want to ask you all: what terms do you want me to use when writing those parts? 

Like would you guys be more comfortable with: 

dick, cock, or penis (or something else?)

anus, entrance, or asshole (or something else?)

What would make the majority of you the most comfortable?   
Because I'm okay with writing with any of these terms, but I don't want to make the majority of you uncomfortable.

(sadly I cannot make everyone happy so I'm going to go with the majority on this)

But yeah, what do you guys want me to use?

If you're not comfortable writing what you'd prefer in the comments then feel free to pm me!

The chapters are going to take a while to write, since so far they're pretty long and I'm not even done with the first one yet, and I might even restart the first one, so it'll be a few days before they're published or anything.

I'd really appreciate all of your opinions! Let me know what you think/want!

Bye!!!


	48. Chapter 38 part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _NSFW WARNING- there will be sex. I will put in another warning when it's about to happen_
> 
> MORE NOTES PLEASE READ:
> 
> Please have safe sex when or if you ever have sex, these chapters are not guides on how to have sex.  
Don't think of this as a guide because it is not.  
I did research for this on several safe websites with information from doctors and experts who know how to do this, you can also do research for this if you're actually interested in something that happens in these chapters. 
> 
> Again, please do not use these chapters as guides.
> 
> Thank you.
> 
> I will not have them use a condom in this since I don't think they had any latex condoms back then and I don't want to have them use condoms made out of sheepskin or animal bladders. So yeah.
> 
> Please use a condom or a dental dam if you have those parts and need them or are doing oral or penetrative sex on or with those parts.  
Unless you are trying to impregnate I guess.
> 
> Anyway.
> 
> Prompt: "everyones first time with Virgil" (individual, so like only Logan and Virgil, only Patton and Virgil, and only Roman and Virgil)
> 
> There will be background first times between Roman and Logan, Roman and Patton, and Patton and Logan as well.
> 
> For the most part I will be using the terms cock and entrance.
> 
> This will be a multi-part chapter as well! Otherwise it would be VERY long.

-PLEASE READ THE NOTES-THANK YOU-  
-PLEASE READ THE NOTES-THANK YOU-

-Patton and Virgil-

Virgil hummed softly as he snuggled deeper into Roman's side, smiling as he felt fingers gently run through his dark chocolate brown locks.

It was just the two of them tonight. Patton and Logan had gone to bed much earlier in their own rooms, where as Roman had snuck into Virgil's room for the night.

"Hey Virgil." Roman asked softly as he continued to run his fingers through his sleepy boyfriend's hair.

"Yeah?" Virgil asked softly as he opened his eyes and shifted so he could look up at him.

"Um, well I was wondering...." Roman mumbled the next part, his face bright red as he looked across the room and away from Virgil.

"What?" Virgil asked as he slowly sat up and shifted so that he was facing him.

Roman's blush darkened. "Well...I was wondering if you'd...you know, like to take this all a step further...or something..." He said shyly, his voice small and a little on the high pitch side, sounding extremely nervous, still not looking at him.

"A step further? What do you.....oh." Virgil blush bright pink when he finally realized what exactly Roman was saying.

"You don't have to if you don't want to, I understand if you're not ready and I won't force you into doing anything." Roman quickly said, putting his hands up in a 'don't worry' manner. "I- we'll only do what you're comfortable with." He added.

Virgil stayed quiet for a few seconds.  
"Did you talk to the others about it?" He asked.

"I mean not explicitly no, but there has been the occasion where we're cuddling and either you and Patton or you and Logan are asleep and me and whoever is awake talk about taking things further, and I'm sure they talk about it when I'm asleep as well." He said.

"Why didn't you guys talk about it with me?" Virgil asked.

"Well, we didn't really want to because you have been really busy lately and didn't want you to have that on your mind while being busy, and we didn't want you to think that it was something you needed to do." He said. "We were going to bring it up when you were less busy, and you're going to be less busy for the next few days, so I thought I'd bring it up..." he said shyly.

"We probably should have talked with you about it before," he added. "Sorry."

"No it's okay," Virgil said. "I would have liked to talk about it with you three, but I can see why you guys didn't want to bring it up right now cause of everything I've been busy with."

"Do you, um, want to do that stuff right now?" Virgil asked shyly.

Roman shook his head. "I don't have all the stuff I need." He said sheepishly. "And we should probably talk to Logan and Patton about it first." He added.

"That's true." Virgil said with a small smile. "We should probably go to bed for now though, we can talk to them tomorrow." He said.

Roman nodded and shifted so that he was laying down, opening his arms for Virgil to tuck himself into, which he did, pressing his face against Romans chest with a hum.

-tomorrow evening-

The four of them were sitting on the bed, Patton laying with his head in Virgil's lap while Logan gently massaged Romans leg since he had pulled a muscle earlier that day.

"So," Roman began. "Virgil and I were talking last night, about you know, taking things a step further for the four of us." He said shyly.

Patton and Logan glanced at each other.

"Really?" Logan said. "And what did you guys talk about?" He asked.

"If I was comfortable with taking this further, with um, sex and such," Virgil said. "which I am." He quickly added.

"Do we, um, do we want to do it all of us together?" Patton asked, glancing around at all of them.

"I think it be best to start off in just pairs for now." Logan said. "It'd be less overwhelming, especially since this is the first time for, I think, all of us." Logan said.

Virgil nodded. "I'm okay with that," he said. "How should we, um, pair off?" He asked, his face bright cherry red.

"Well, who would be most comfortable with who?" Logan asked 

They discussed things for a while, trying to figure out how to pair up, and eventually decided on Patton with Virgil and Logan with Roman for the first time around, planning on discussing who went next with who and such after.

"We should probably discuss our likes and dislikes for now, and create a safe word for all of us to use since having multiple would just be confusing." Logan said, his cheeks flushing slightly.

They all, albeit shyly, began to talk about things they'd be okay with, things they'd like to try, and things they didn't want. They also developed a safe word for them all to use: Parchment, which Logan had come up with after they'd decided to not go with the usually red-yellow-green safe words, although they could default to those if necessary.

After a bit more talking about what they were all comfortable with they eventually had to go find a book that explained how to do it all safely, which was a bit awkward since they needed to check it out of the library, having Roman do it instead of all of them together so that the librarian wouldn't get any ideas.

They studied the book diligently, wanting to do this in the safest and nicest way possible, none of them wanting to hurt the others in anyway during the process of it all.

They went about discreetly gathering the supplies they needed without being super obvious or getting anyone suspicious or curious. Yes the king and queen knew they were in a relationship now, but that didn't mean they wanted to broadcast their sex life to the entire castle.

They waited a few days, talking about it a bit more and going over things, double and triple checking to make sure they were all willing and ready and that no one was being pressured into anything.

Finally the day they had decided on arrived, and Virgil found himself anxiously sitting in his room.

What if he didn't look good. What if he didn't react to things the way Patton wanted him to. what if he couldn't make Patton feel good. What if he hurt Patton. What if he made weird sound. 

Thoughts of possibilities flew through his mind as he put his head in his hands.

What if Patton lost interest and it got awkward. What if Virgil panicked while they were doing stuff. What if he accidentally did something Patton had said he wasn't okay with. What if he rushed things.

There was a knock on his door.

He looked up from where he was curled up with his knees to his chest on his bed.

"I'm coming in," Roman said through the door, before slowly opening it and stepping inside.

"Hey," Roman said softly as he walked over to the edge of Virgil's bed.

"Hi," Virgil said as he slowly uncurled himself, taking a shaky breath.

"You doing okay?" Roman asked as he reached forward and gently took Virgil's hand.

"Yeah, yeah I'm just....just nervous." Virgil said, biting his lip as he looked down at his lap.

"It's okay to be nervous," Roman said, "heck, I'm pretty nervous right now if I'm being honest." He said with a smile. "And I'm sure Logan and Patton are as well."

Virgil's smiled slightly, "you're probably right." He said softly.

"I know I am," Roman said, "now come on, we need to go get cleaned up and ready and such." He said.

Virgil blushed slightly and nodded as he got up and off of the bed with Roman.

It had been decided that they'd help each other get ready, with Logan and Patton helping each other and Roman and Virgil helping each other.

They made their way into Virgil's bathroom, and each stripped down and began to get ready. Cleaning themselves and all the embarrassing nooks and crannies that they needed to get, being careful on how they did it and what they used so that they didn't accidentally hurt themselves or make it unpleasant for their partner.

It hadn't been completely discussed what they were going to do exactly, some possibilities were thrown around and they had decided to clean up everywhere so that everything they mentioned possibly doing was actually possible, even if they didn't end up do some things that they had prepped for, just wanting to be safe and ready. They were going to talk about what all the were wanting to do before they began, unless they had discussed it earlier due to more preparation being needed.

It took a while, since they were being very careful and thorough, but they eventually finished cleaning up and getting ready.

"Well," Roman said as the two of them got dressed into clean pairs of soft pajamas. "I should probably head over to Logan's room now, I'll send pat over." He said as they walked out of the bathroom.

"Alright," Virgil said with a shy smile.

Roman smiled back and gently kissed his cheek. "Have fun," He said with a wink as he began to walk towards the door.

Virgil blushed brightly, "y-you too." He said, waving goodbye as Roman left.

Virgil went back into the bathroom and cleaned out the bathtub before starting up a new bath since they'd agreed to cleaning up after they'd finished as well. He also put a couple of handkerchiefs on his bedside table in case they needed them for anything, next to a bowl of dried fruits Incase either of them were hungrier after, before also got out one of the two bottles of lubricant the four of them had managed to get, setting it on the edge of the bed just in case they decided to do something that required it.

When he was finished with that he sat on his bed, nervously waiting for Patton to arrive.

After what felt like hours, but was really only a minute or two, there was a soft knock on his door.

"Come in." Virgil said, loud enough for the person to hear.

The door opened and in walked Patton, also dressed in soft pajamas. He closed the door behind himself before approaching the bed.

"Hey," He said softly as he sat down on the bed, pulling his feet up to sit criss cross.

"Hi," Virgil said with a nervous smile.

"So, what exactly do you want to do tonight? Anything in particular?" Patton asked.

"Um, I don't think I'm up for full on penetration tonight." Virgil said, blushing as he looked down at his lap.

"Alright," Patton said, "what about fingers? Or just no penetration at all." He asked.

"Maybe fingers, you can try it if you want and I'll tell you if it's a no." Virgil said.

"What were you wanting to do." He asked as he looked up at Patton.

"Well, I also don't think I'm in the mood for penetration right now either, and I don't really want fingers, so maybe just oral? Along with kissing and hickies?"

"That sounds nice." Virgil said with a small smile. "Only in places I can cover though." He added.

"Alright." Patton said."So you and Roman cleaned up and everything?" He asked.

"Yes, we were thorough and he helped me with trimming and shaving down there as well." He said with a bright blush, not looking at him.

Patton smiled, "Logan and I did the same." He said, his own cheeks flushed as well.

They sat quietly for a few moments.

"Do you remember the safe word?" Parton asked.

"Parchment." Virgil said.

"And we can say to slow down and such as well if stuff is going to fast or is to much, but parchment is our word for complete stop until it's okay to start again or until we decided to end it for the night." Patton said, gaining a nod from Virgil.

"Well... you ready?" Patton asked, a nervous smile on his face.

"Yeah." Virgil said, fiddling with the hem of his shirt, before slowly pulling it off, Patton doing the same.

The two of them carefully undressed, leaving their clothes in a semi-neat pile at the foot of the bed, before sitting to face each other again, both of them with flushed cheeks.

"Let's, um, let's start with kissing." Virgil said, "if that's okay with you." He added.

"That's fine with me," Patton said, with a sheepish smile.

"Can, um, can you lay on your back?" Virgil asked. "And I'll kiss you that way? It's okay if you don't want to." He quickly added.

"No I'm fine with that." Patton said with a small smile, before slowly laying down, resting his head on one of the pillows.

"Can I, um, can I-I straddle you?" Virgil asked, his cheeks cherry red.

"S-sure." Patton said, his cheeks the color of roses.

Virgil slowly moved on top of him, one leg on either side of patina torso, shifting till he got into a spot where it'd be easy to kiss Patton.

———I guess this is where it technically starts, but it's just kissing, making out, and hickies for a while, then stuff will actually start and all———

"Alright," patton said, "tap my shoulder or pull away if you need a break." He said.

Virgil nodded before leaning down and gently kissing him, Patton immediately kissing back.

After a few seconds both of their eyes slipped closed, and some of the nerves faded away. They'd kissed before. This was safe already explored territory for now.

Patton hesitantly, not wanting to do something Virgil didn't like, wrapped his arms up and around Virgil's m shoulders and neck, moving slowly so that Virgil could stop him if he wanted to and so that he didn't startle Virgil.

He didn't seem to mind though, so the two continued to kiss, pulling away every now and then to breath a little bit.

Virgil pulled away eventually, only a few inches away though, slowly opening his eyes to look down at Patton.

"Am I allowed to use my tongue?" Virgil asked shyly as he gently brushed some hair out of Patton's face.

"S-sure, I'm okay with that." Patton said, his cheeks turning darker.

Virgil nodded, and leaned back down again to capture Patton in a kiss, both of their eyes closed before they'd even touched.

It started out like a normal kiss, but then tongue was there, gently nudging against Patton's lips, silently asking for him to open his mouth a little.

He shyly parted his lips, and Virgil slowly slipped his tongue into Patton's mouth, exploring around a little.

It felt weird, having something so soft, slimy and foreign moving around in his mouth. Of course this wasn't the first time they'd used tongue, that didn't make it feel any less weird though. Patton tasted minty and fresh, which meant that he'd probably brushed his teeth before this like Virgil and Roman had.

He moved his tongue around in Patton's mouth, exploring around a bit before pressing against Patton's tongue.

Virgil gently pushed against Patton's tongue, trying to prompt him into moving around as well, feeling a bit awkward.

Patton eventually caught on, and slipped his tongue into Virgil's mouth at some point, doing the same he'd done to him.

They ended up pulling away at some point, panting softly with a thin trail of saliva connecting their now tulip red lips.

"My turn? Can I leave a couple hickies?" Patton asked softly. "In places we can cover up of course." He added.

Virgil nodded as he looked up at him, "Sure," he said, blushing a little as he moved off of Patton.

Patton shifted until the two of them had switched positions, with Patton now on top of Virgil's stomach, looking down at him.

"Is this good?" He asked.

"Yeah it's good." Virgil said as he shifted a small bit.

Patton nodded before leaning down and pressing his lips to Virgil's neck, the touch sweet and feather light.

Virgil closed his eyes again and tilted his head to the side while reaching up and gently tangling his fingers in the hair on the back of Patton's head, making sure not to pull his hair as he did.

Patton continued to press the sweet kisses to Virgils neck, before gently latching on to a spot near where his neck melded into his shoulder, gently sucking at the skin and nipping at it with his teeth for a minute or two before pulling away, a small light red hickey left there.

He continued to move down, shifting himself backwards as he did, pressing hot kisses to Virgil's collarbone along with the red hickies.

"Can I touch you while I do this?" Patton asked softly after leaving a hickey just bellow his collarbone on his upper chest.

"S-sure," Virgil said, feeling a little breathless. He'd gotten hickies from Patton before, but it felt a little different this time, more intimate. Maybe being fully naked, along with the thought of what was to come, was the cause of that.

Patton reached up and gently traced a finger around one of Virgil's rosy pink nipples.

"Can I kiss and such here, or is that not okay?" Patton asked.

"No that's fine," Virgil said while gently massaging Patton's scalp.

Patton nodded before moving his head back down to leave another hickey, not touching either of his nipples yet. He trailed his hands down Virgil's sides, all the way to his hips before moving back up, sending pleasant tingles down Virgil's spine.

He continued to kiss down his body, pressing the warm kisses to his chest and pecs, gently sucking hickies across his skin and nipping at certain spots with his teeth, before stopping for a second, his lips hovering above Virgil's left nipple.

After a second or two he leaned down and pressed a hot, open mouth kiss to the pink nub, pressing his tongue against it as well.

Virgil's breath hitched slightly. It felt weird and warm, but in a good way? He could kind of understand now why Roman had liked it when he and Logan had done this to him during the ball a while ago.

Then Patton began to suck, pulling his nipple into his mouth and sucking on it diligently, holding back a smile when Virgil began to squirm and when Virgil unintentionally pulled at his hair a little bit.

He moved his right hand up to Virgil's chest and began to gently roll his other nipple between his fingers, gently pinching as he did, but not enough to be painful, sending more spark like tingles across Virgil's skin.

A small moan slipped out of Virgil's mouth, making him blush cherry red from embarrassment.

Patton continued to play with his nipples, occasionally grazing his teeth against the sensitive skin, earning sharp gasps and more squirming. He eventually switched, giving the same treatment to the other nipple, which earned him another handful of moans from Virgil.

He slowly pulled away after much longer than he had planned, leaving Virgil panting softly and his nipples a dark shade of pink and puffy, only for them to become stiff as the sensitive skin was met with the cold air around them.

Patton then continued his way downwards, pressing more kisses and hickies to Virgil's ribs, drawing out a couple of giggles that Virgil muffled by covering his mouth shyly, which Parton didn't really like, since he loved hearing Virgil or any of the others laugh, but he didn't want to tell Virgil what to do.

He pressed gentle kisses too his stomach, and the two of them shifted their positions so that Patton was now between Virgil's legs, making both of them blush even more and realize how warm it had gotten.

Patton looked up at Virgil, catching his gaze.

"Are you ready? Do you still want this?" He asked.

Virgil nodded. "Y-yes I would still like it," he said, "do you still want to?" He asked.

Patton nodded as well, "I do," he said.  
"Are you ready?" He asked.

Virgil bit his lip as he nodded. "Yes." He said softly, feeling a sudden flutter of butterflies in his stomach as he looked down at Patton, growing a tiny bit nervous.

"I'll go slow." Patton said, waiting for Virgil to nod in response before carefully shifting down so that he had easy access to Virgil's cock.

He gently wrapped his fingers around his semi-hard shaft; and began to stroke his flushed and sensitive skin, drawing out a soft moan from Virgil, who cover his face with his arms.

"If you can I'd like you to uncover your face, but it's okay if you can't right now." Patton said softly.

"I-I will when I get more used to this." Virgil said softly, leaving his face covered for now. "Sorry." He added.

"Oh no no no baby, it's alright, just know that however you react is fine, be it blushing or moaning or something else, I won't judge you." Patton added.

"O-okay." Virgil said softly.

Patton continued to stroke and rub his shaft, wanting to get him fully erect before they actually started the blowjob. Virgil, although very embarrassed, didn't hold back the small moans that escaped him every now and then, which made Patton happy because Virgil was enjoying what he was doing.

It didn't take very long for Virgil to become fully erect, and soon they were ready to start.

"Tell me if you want me to stop," Patton said as he turned his gaze up to look at Virgil, "and please tell me when you're going to cum so that I'm not surprised by it and such." He said.

Virgil nodded, "Okay, and I will." He said. "And you can just stop if you ever need to stop." He added. "Don't think you need to push through to make me feel good."

Parton nodded, before leaning down and gently pressing a searing hot kiss to the head of Virgil's cock, still loosely holding him in his hand.

Virgil's breath hitched slightly at the contact, which was soon followed by more heated open-mouth kisses and gentle licks to both the head and to the shaft, drawing out a few tiny moans from Virgil's lips as he shifted slightly, getting used to the foreign yet pleasurable touches as his skin began to feel warmer and warmer.

He didn't taste good or bad in Patton's opinion, which he assumed was because Virgil had cleaned up before hand, other wise the experience might not have been as nice as it currently was. Virgil did smell like his usual vanilla-honey soap though, which Patton appreciated.

After a bit more gentle touching and experimenting with what felt good, he finally took the head of his cock into his mouth, still holding the shaft in one hand, while keeping himself propped up with the other.

He felt Virgil tense slightly and carefully pulled off, making sure to keep his teeth away from the flushed skin.

He then went back down, taking him back into his mouth and rubbing his tongue against the glands. This time he felt Virgil shift slightly and a breathy moan escaped his lips.

He glanced up at Virgil, and saw his face still covered. Which was fine, if Virgil was embarrassed Patton wasn't going to force him to do anything, he just hopped that Virgil's embarrassment would fade away as they fell into a rhythm.

He began to suck and roll his tongue against the head of his cock, while also using his hand to rub the rest of the flushed shaft that wasn't in his mouth, his heart fluttering as Virgil began to moan louder.

He began to bob his head a little, not a lot, but it seemed to feel good to Virgil and Patton himself didn't mind doing, so he continued moving.

He eventually pulled away and went back to kissing and licking his shaft, pausing when he felt Virgil shift slightly, glancing up to see Virgil prop himself up with a few pillows, putting them both at a better and more comfortable angle.

He closed his eyes and took Virgil back into his mouth, but this time he took more, wrapping his lips around some of the shaft as well instead of just the head.

He continued to suck and slightly bob his head, before humming softly as he felt a pair of hands tangle their fingers in his curls, being very gentle. The hands weren't forcing or holding him down or anything, just sitting there and massaging his scalp.

He opened his eyes a little and looked up to see Virgil with his face now uncovered, and his head slightly tilted back. Although Patton could still see most of his flushed face, and his slightly red and swollen bottom lip which was probably from Virgil chewing on it.

Patton closed his eyes and went back to sucking on Virgil's cock, smiling a bit as he did, happy that he was making Virgil feel good and happy that Virgil felt more comfortable and had uncovered his face.

"Y-you're good at this." Virgil said softly as he looked down at Patton.

Patton pulled off for a second to catch his breath. "I'm glad you think so," he said as he moved to press a kiss to Virgil's thigh. "And remember that you can ask me to stop or ask me to do something differently if you want." He added.

Virgil nodded, "I know," he said, "but that also goes for you too." He added.

Patton nodded as well, before moving down and taking Virgil's cock back into his mouth, taking as much of him into his mouth as he could while still feeling comfortable.

Virgil moaned louder, it felt searingly hot inside Patton's mouth. He leaned his head back as he sagged into the pillows a bit. He hadn't expected a blow job to feel this good.

Patton began to suck his cock and curl and roll his tongue against him, closing his eyes as he began to focus a bit more on pleasuring Virgil.

Virgil continued to massage Patton's scalp, closing his eyes as he groaned out another moan and squirmed, his toes curling.

After a few minutes Patton pulled off, partially because his mouth was beginning to get a bit tired, but also because he had a question.

"Are you still okay with me using fingers?" Patton asked as he began to stroke his cock in his hand.

Virgil moaned softly and nodded. "Yeah I'm still okay with that." He said as he looked down at him.

Patton nodded and moved to grab the bottle of lube that had been sitting on the edge of the bed not to far away, giving both himself and Virgil a chance to catch their breath.

He shifted back to his spot between Virgil's legs again and carefully spread his legs even farther apart, the bright red color of Virgil's cheeks darkening from embarrassment.

He poured a decent amount of the lube onto three of his fingers before shifting down and getting comfortable himself.

"Remember that you can either tell me to do something different or use our safe-word," Patton said.

Virgil nodded, having moved to shyly cover his face again.

"Use your words sweetheart." Patton said softly.

"Okay," Virgil said as he shifted a little bit.

"Can you tell me the safe-word? Just so I know you remember?"

"Parchment." Virgil said.

"Good," Patton said, before moving down to press a few kisses to Virgil's cock, which twitched as the contact.

Virgil hummed softly and relaxed back into his pillows again as Patton took his cock back into his mouth, drawing out a small moan.

It wasn't until roughly thirty seconds later that he felt Patton press his fingers against him, gently poking, prodding and circling his entrance. The feeling made a shiver go up Virgil's spine, or that could have just been the feeling of the cold, slippery lube touching his heated skin.

His breath hitched and he moaned while moving to cover his face as Patton pushed a finger inside of him, moving slow so that he didn't hurt him.

Patton began to gently push and pull his finger in and out, going a little bit deeper each time, pulling a string of moans from between Virgil's lips. He also continued to suck his cock, bobbing his head as he took as much of him inside as he could.

Virgil squirmed underneath him, feeling too hot, like his skin was on fire, arching his back and gripping the pillow as he panted between moans, steadily growing louder and louder.

It felt good, really good, much better than what he had been expecting. He didn't know what he had been expecting, but it most certainly didn't feel as good as this.

Patton eventually slipped a second finger in, and Virgil let out a soft hiss at the burn and stretch it caused. Patton responded by slowing down a bit and letting Virgil get used to it.

The feeling quickly returned to pleasurable after he was able to adjust to the two fingers, and Patton sped up a bit more.

"P-pat," Virgil stuttered after a few moments as he covered his face with his arms. "I-I'm getting close-" he cut himself off with a sharp gasp as Patton slipped a third finger inside.

Patton didn't say anything, but moved so that he could lavish the head of Virgil's cock with long licks and sharp sucks, humming softly as he pumped his fingers faster.

Virgil writhed as he continued to cover his face with his arms, muttering Patton's name over and over again as he felt a simmering heat pooling in his gut, quickly working its way up to a boil.

"P-Patton I-I'm-" Virgil managed to stutter out as he arched his back and came with a moan, the sound muffled by his arms from him covering his face.

Patton didn't pull away, and continued to pleasure him through his orgasm, but didn't swallow either. He finally pulled away when Virgil relaxed back into the pillows, panting heavily.

Patton crawled to the side and grabbed one of the handkerchiefs Virgil had set on the bedside table, before spitting everything out and wiping his mouth. It's not that it tasted utterly disgusting or anything, it just tasted kinda bad and Patton didn't really want to swallow it.

He set the used handkerchief aside before crawling back over to Virgil, pressing several kisses to his cheek as his breathing slowly relaxed and he opened his eyes.

"Wow." Virgil muttered softly as he opened his eyes to look over at Patton.

"Did it feel good?" Patton asked as he curled up next to him.

Virgil nodded. "It really did," he said, "I don't know if I'll be able to do that good of a job for you." he added.

"I'm sure you will." Patton said reassuringly.

"Do you want me to? Now?" Virgil asked.

"Whenever you're ready," Patton said, "we can take a break for a while if you need." He added.

Virgil shook his head. "I can do it now." He said as he sat up.

"Are you sure? It's okay to take a break if you need one." Patton said while sitting up next to him.

"I'm sure." Virgil said as he smiled and pressed a kiss to Patton's cheek, "thank you though." He added.

"Well, if you're sure," Patton said slowly. "Then I'm ready whenever you are."

Virgil nodded. "H-how do you want to do it?" He asked.

"Whatever's most comfortable for you." Patton said, "you don't have to do it the same way I did." He added.

Virgil thought for a moment, before grabbing one of his fluffiest pillows and getting out of bed. He set the pillow down on the floor next to the side of the bed.

"Is this okay?" Virgil asked as he got down onto his knees on top of the pillow, which felt much more comfortable than it would have if he'd been on the plain floor.

Patton blushed and nodded as he moved to sit on the edge of the bed in front of Virgil, his crotch level with Virgil's head. "Yeah I'm okay with this if you're comfortable." Patton said.

Virgil smiled at him, "I am, the pillow makes it feel much nicer than it would normally." He said.

Patton nodded and gently carded his fingers through Virgil's hair, smiling as he leaned into it.

"Can I grip your hair while you do it? I'll try to be gentle." Patton said.

"Yes you can," Virgil said, "and it's alright if you pull a little, just not too hard." He added before he reached up to gently curl his fingers around Patton's cock.

Patton hummed softly at the gentle touch, closing his eyes as Virgil began to gently stroke him.

Virgil leaned his head against Patton's thigh, pressing gentle kisses to his skin as he continued to stroke him at a steady pace.

"Still no fingers?" He asked softly as he glanced up at Patton.

Patton shook his head, "no fingers." He said.

Virgil nodded before pressing another kiss to his thigh, this time open mouth. He began to suck at a spot, giving him a light red hickey.

He continued to stroke him while leaving a garden of red blooming hickeys on his inner thighs until Patton was fully hard and his skin was flushed bright red.

Virgil shifted his position a little as he pulled his hand away, getting comfortable again.

Patton looked down when Virgil pulled his hand away, opening his eyes after realizing he had closed them at some point.

"Can I wrap my arms around your waist?" Virgil asked, looking up at him.

Patton hummed as he nodded. "You can," he said softly, "and I still good to hold your hair?" He asked.

"Yeah you still can." Virgil said as he loosely wrapped his arms around Patton's waist, getting comfortable.

Virgil waited a few seconds before giving the head of Patton's cock a gentle lick.

Virgil's tongue felt hot against the sensitive tip, and Patton shivered slightly at the feeling.

Virgil continued to lick at his cock, either from the bottom to the top, or just the shaft or just the head, not doing any particular pattern.

He eventually took the head inside his mouth, humming softly as he began to suck while pressing his tongue against the tip, drawing out a hand full of moans from Patton.

Virgil's mouth was so warm and felt so good. He was gentle yet touched all the right places right when Patton needed him to.

Virgil slowly began to bob his head a little, taking in more of his cock each time he went down.

Patton tangled his fingers in Virgil's hair, getting a secure yet gentle grip as he moaned softly.

Virgil hummed softly and allowed more of Patton's cock to slip into his mouth, the head now just barely nudging the back of his throat, not enough to make him gag though.

He eventually slowed down until he wasn't moving at all, just sucking and rolling his tongue against his cock.

Patton felt hot and heavy in Virgil's mouth, his cock resting on his tongue as he diligently sucked and swallowed around him, drawing out more moans from Patton's lips. He didn't taste bad, just kinda funny, so Virgil didn't mind taking it kinda slow.

He eventually took a small break, pausing in his sucking, but left Patton's cock in his mouth, laying heavily on top of his tongue while Virgil caught his breath for a minute.

Patton gently massaged at Virgil's scalp, panting softly as he opened his eyes to look down at him.

"You can take a break if you want." Patton said softly, his face flushed.

The only response he got was Virgil sucking at his cock a little bit before pausing again, drawing out a small moan from Patton's lips.

Virgil began to suck and bob his head again when he finally caught his breath, shifting a bit closer to Patton as he rolled his tongue against the head of his cock.

Patton moaned, his skin feeling like it was on fire. His grip on Virgil's hair tightened, and he ended up pulling his hair a little, which drew out a small groan from Virgil, but didn't make him pause in his movements.

At one point Patton began to feel himself getting close, a boiling hot sensation pooling in his gut, and he squirmed a little.

"Virgil, Virgil I'm close," he muttered softly, his grip on Virgil's hair tightening as he racked his back and bucked his hips a little.

In the process he accidentally pushed his cock farther into Virgil mouth, pressing his head against the very back of Virgil's throat. Virgil immediately gagged and choked around him, quickly pulling off as he coughed.

Patton instantly let go of his hair, concern and guilt rushing through him.

"Oh I'm so so sorry," he said as he hesitantly reaches towards him, but stopped before touching him, not knowing if Virgil would be okay with it. "did I hurt you? I'm so sorry." He said.

"I'm fine Pat," Virgil said as his coughing quickly dies down, "just startled me a bit, you didn't hurt me." He said reassuringly."

"Are you sure?" Patton asked, still concerned. "Do you want to take a break? Or we could just be done for tonight?"

Virgil shook his head, "we don't need to stop," he said, "I'm fine, I promise, just try not to do it again." Virgil said with a smile.

"Well...if you're sure..." Patton said slowly, "but don't push yourself."

"I won't." Virgil said, before he shifted forwards again and took Patton's still hard cock into his mouth, suckling at the head for a few seconds before taking more of him into his mouth again, drawing out a couple of moans from Patton.

Patton seemed hesitant to hold Virgil's hair again, letting his hand hover awkwardly, but then Virgil huffed through his nose and reached up to grab one of Patton's wrists, pulling his hand down to rest on his scalp before wrapping his arm around Patton's waist again.

Patton took the hint and re-tangled his fingers into Virgil's hair again, moaning louder as Virgil began to diligently rub his tongue against the sensitive head of his cock while still sucking, quickly pulling Patton back up to the brink of burning hot orgasm in a little over a minute.

Patton squirmed again, being more careful this time, and Virgil began to bob his head faster.

"Virgil-" Patton cut himself off with a moan, "Virgil I-I'm going to cum-" he managed to stutter out with a harsh gasp, followed by a string of moans that Virgil pulled out from between his lips.

Virgil pulled his head back and began to solely suck and lick his head, stroking the rest of his cock with one of his hands.

Patton tilted his head back and moaned much louder as he came, his thighs trembling as he arched his back.

Virgil continued to gently suck at the head of his cock, pleasuring him through his orgasm like Patton had done to him, until Patton's grip on his hair went lax. He pulled off with a soft pop sound, and Patton tiredly reached back across the bed to grab the unused handkerchief, handing it to Virgil, who quickly spat everything out before setting the handkerchief aside.

He looked up at Patton, both of them panting and flushed. "How'd I do?" He asked as he pressed a gentle kiss to Patton's thigh.

“Amazing.” Patton said softly, before reaching down and pulling Virgil up from his knees until they were face to face. “You made me feel so good.” He added as he pressed a few kissed to Virgil’s cheeks and jaw.

Virgil smiled and wrapped his arms around Patton, “I’m glad.” He said as he pressed a kiss to Patton’s forehead. “Now, lets go get cleaned up.” He said.

Patton nodded and the two of them got up, stretching a bit, before lazily walking over to the bathroom, Virgil thankful that past him decided to have the bath already set up.

Of course the water wasn’t hot anymore, but neither of them minded, enjoying how the colder than lukewarm water felt on their still heated skin.

They washed up, helping each other out, before taking the time to just relax a little, leaning on each other as they shared gentle kisses.

They eventually got out, both of them quickly drying off, before brushing their teeth and getting dressed back into their pajamas.

They both curled up on the bed, and lightly snacked on some of the dry fruits Virgil had set out earlier. They talked about what had felt good, if there was anything either of them didn’t like, or if there was anything they wanted to do again, making mental notes to talk to Roman and Logan about those things as well.

They eventually dozed off, feeling both tired and content as they curled up together.

Their first time together had gone well, except for the small mishap, and both excitedly get anxiously looked forward to the next time they were going to do something like this, much to their embarrassment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ta-hecking-da y’all.
> 
> So here was this, very long chapter, over 7,000 words!  
How’d I do? Hopefully not too bad, this is the first time I’ve written a sex scene.
> 
> The next one, Virgil and Roman’s chapter, will be out soon!  
And again, I am always taking requests, so don’t be afraid to comment or pm me.


	49. Announcement to the masses

Hey yalls.

Okay, so basically I've hit a stump.

I have little to no motivation or inspiration for writing this fic right now, and I've been struggling to get the words down on the paper despite knowing what I want to write, already having the chapter in my mind.

I'm more than half way done with the next chapter, and am partially done with some other chapters, but I just can't get myself to actually try and write.

Like every time I try to just sit down and write I get incredibly bored and super dull with what I'm writing and then delete it cause it sucks and isn't what I want.

I don't know how long this is gunna last for, I'm gunna try and pump out at least part two and part three of chapter 38, but I make no promises on when that's gunna be, although hopefully it's soon cause I feel awful for making yalls wait.

I still have my list of prompts to do as well, and I've been excited to write them, so it's not like I'm getting bored with this fix or anything.

I just can't get my head to do it.

Sorry for the inconvenience, I'll try to fix all this as soon as I can, hopefully this doesn't last long, and if it does I sincerely apologize.

Thank you for taking the time to read.

Bye!


	50. Chapter 38 part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey I'm finally back.  
Sorry for the wait, the next chapter will be out soon, I promise.  
Anyway:
> 
> _NSFW WARNING- there will be sex. I will put in another warning when it's about to happen_
> 
> MORE NOTES PLEASE READ:
> 
> Please have safe sex when or if you ever have sex, these chapters are not guides on how to have sex.   
Don't think of this as a guide because it is not.   
I did research for this on several safe websites with information from doctors and experts who know how to do this, you can also do research for this if you're actually interested in something that happens in these chapters. 
> 
> Again, please do not use these chapters as guides.
> 
> Thank you.
> 
> I will not have them use a condom in this since I don't think they had any latex condoms back then and I don't want to have them use condoms made out of sheepskin or animal bladders. So yeah.
> 
> Please use a condom or a dental dam if you have those parts and need them or are doing oral or penetrative sex on or with those parts.   
Unless you are trying to impregnate I guess.
> 
> Anyway.
> 
> Prompt: "everyones first time with Virgil" (individual, so like only Logan and Virgil, only Patton and Virgil, and only Roman and Virgil)
> 
> There will be background first times between Roman and Logan, Roman and Patton, and Patton and Logan as well.
> 
> For the most part I will be using the terms cock and entrance or simply "inside of him". We'll see how it plays out.
> 
> This will be a multi-part chapter as well! Otherwise it would be VERY long.
> 
> Have I been procrastinating? Yes. Do I have good reason? Kinda.
> 
> Here ya go

-Virgil and Roman-

It was another week before they got the time to pair up again, but this time it was a little bit different.

Since Virgil and Roman were going to be trying out penetration, they needed the person on the receiving end to be well prepped. Which meant they couldn't just wait for that night, do a little prep, and then just go for it. The person needed to be stretched out, slowly and properly, so that when they actually ended up 'doing it' the person would be at a lesser risk of getting hurt and it would overall feel better.

Obviously this was kinda embarrassing to talk about, but they talked about it together anyways and settled some things.

It felt all to soon when Virgil found himself cleaning up with Logan in Virgil's bathroom, the two of them helping each other just liked they'd helped Patton and Roman the week before.

Not to soon to be doing it per se, it just kinda snuck up on him when he hadn't fully prepared himself for it.

"You're nervous." Logan stated as he helped Virgil clean up. They were in Virgil's bathroom, both of them cleaning up in the tub.

"Of course I am," Virgil said with a shrug, "what if it's not what we're expecting? What if I can't make him feel good? what if I do something wrong?"

Logan gently wrapped an arm around Virgil's stomach from behind, pressing a kiss to a spot just bellow Virgil's ear. 

"I can assure you, that no matter what happens tonight everything will be okay." He said softly, his voice steady. "Yes one of you might make a mistake, and it might not be what you're expecting, but that is okay, and Roman understands that." He assured.

Virgil sighed softly and leaned back against Logan. "Yeah, you're right." He said softly, before the two of them went back to cleaning themselves up.

They went through a comfortable bout of silence before talking again.

"Are you nervous?" Virgil asked after a few minutes, while they were getting dressed in comfortable pajamas.

"I am," Logan said with a nod, "I share very similar worries with you, but as I have already said, I know that everything will be okay." He said.

Virgil chewed on his lip a little before nodding.

The two of them quickly finished up and split ways, a quick kiss and words of encouragement being exchanged before Logan left to go to his room, where Patton should be.

Virgil took a deep breath, doing his best to calm his nerves, before getting the room ready.

He prepped a fresh bath, just like he had for when he had his night with Patton, and he set out a bowl of dried fruits, a couple of full sized towels, and the bottle of lube from before.

He did a quick run through of his mental list to see if he had forgotten anything, and had just finished triple checking when there was a gentle knock on his door.

"Knock knickity knock." A voice called through the door, his tone playful.

Virgil couldn't help but smile. "Come in," he called back while sitting on the edge of his bed.

The door slid open a second later, revealing Roman, wearing his comfortable pajamas and a fond smile on his face.

"Fancy meeting you here." He said, walking into the room and closing the door behind him.

Virgil rolled his eyes, "Ah yes, how unusual of me to be in my own room." He said with a chuckle.

"I know," Roman agreed as he sauntered over to him, "you're never in here, can you even call it your room?" Roman asked as he sat down on the bed, facing Virgil.

"I mean, I sleep here don't I?" Virgil said.

Roman scoffed halfheartedly. "True, but I've slept in the same tree for a week before, and that was most definitely not my room."

"You'll need to tell me about that later." Virgil said with a laugh.

Roman smirked at him, "of course I will, anything for you, my darling." He said, his smirk growing when Virgil blushed.

"Oh hush you," Virgil said as he crossed his arms and looked away, his face a nice cherry red.

Roman laughed softly and combed some of his hair out of his own face with his fingers, his smirk turning into a fond smile.

"You ready?" He asked.

Virgil uncrossed his arms and looked back at him. "Yeah," He said with a small nod, "you?" He asked.

"Yup," Roman said with a grin. "Wanna go over the agenda for tonight?" He asked.

Virgil nodded. "That'd probably be a good thing to do." He said.

"Well, there'll most likely be some kissing, maybe some touching, then the main event, do you want to do anything after that or between those things?" Roman asked.

"Nothing in particular, no." Virgil said. "Anything for you?" He asked.

"Not really," Roman said, " remember our safe-word?" He asked.

Virgil nodded. "Parchment," He said.

Roman nodded. "Okay good," he said. "Wanna start with kissing and such? Or something else?" He asked.

"Well," Virgil began, a sheepish look taking over his face, "I'm up for starting with kissing, but can I kiss your, um, your body for a bit?" He asked. "We can do a regular kiss first and all, but after?" He added quickly.

Roman smiled, and reached forwards to gently take Virgil's hand, "of course we can." He said.

Virgil smiled back at him, before gently pulling Roman forwards so that he was in Virgil's lap, his knees on either side of Virgil's hips.

"Is this okay?" Virgil asked as he looped his arms around Roman's waist, looking up at him.

Roman nodded, "Yeah, this is good." He said as he loosely wrapped his arms around Virgil's neck and shoulders; running his fingers against the soft fabric of Virgil's pajamas.

I guess this is where it technically starts, but it's just kissing, making out, hickies, and body kisses for a while, then stuff will actually start and all

Virgil smiled and leaned forwards, gently pressing his lips to Romans as he closed his eyes.

Roman kisses him back lovingly, a small, content sigh escaping him as he leaned closer to virgil.

They kissed for a few more seconds before slowly pulling away, only to kiss right away again, this time open mouth.

Virgil slipped his tongue into Romans mouth, forcing himself to not smile as Roman moaned quietly. Instead he found himself humming softly as Roman mirrored him, pressing back against Virgil and tangling their tongues together while also exploring around his mouth.

Roman tasted like sugary oranges and smelled like fresh dark cherries in the summer heat, and Virgil found himself addicted to the taste, moving and pushing Roman down until Roman was on his back with Virgil above him and between his legs. 

He assumed the taste was something Roman had either recently eaten or had purposefully eaten to make their activities more enjoyable -which it did- and he knew that the cherry smell was a new soap that Roman had recently fallen in love with.

Roman moaned softly and moved his hands up to tangle his fingers in Virgil's hair. His cheeks were flushed, the sweet red color blending nicely with his sun-kissed skin.

Virgil eventually pulled away, the two of them panting softly while they opened their eyes.

"Can we get undressed now?" Roman asked his voice softly as he carded his fingers through Virgil's hair, massaging his scalp.

Virgil smiled and laughed softly, "Sure," he said as he pulled back further and scooted away from Roman, giving them both plenty of room to undress.

The two of them quickly, albeit a little shy, undressed and folded their clothes into neat piles at the foot of the bed.

"Can I, um, can I start kissing your body?" Virgil asked, his face flushed red from embarrassment.

Roman smiled as he laid back down, looking up at Virgil. "Yeah you can," be said.

Virgil smiled back as he nodded, his cheeks still red. He carefully positioned himself so that he was seated between Romans legs. He leaned forwards and pressed a gentle kiss to Romans neck, smiling as Roman began to gently run his fingers through his hair.

He pressed a couple more kisses to each side of his neck, before moving down to press kisses to his collarbone and chest, drawing out a few soft hums from roman. He gently nipped at a few spots, and left a couple hickies, before moving to one of Romans nipples. 

He pressed a gentle kiss to the rosy nub, before sucking it into his mouth, earning a small gasp from Roman. He began to gently suck on his nipple while rubbing the sensitive bud with his tongue, waiting a few seconds before gently nipping at the nub, which drew out a gasp followed by a moan from Roman.

Virgil hummed softly and reached up to gently pinch at Romans other nipple, gaining another moan. He continued to suck and nip at the nipple in his mouth, while twisting and pinching his other nipple, making Roman squirm and moan underneath.

"Gosh Virgil." Roman said softly as he subconsciously pushed his chest up into the touches.

Virgil pulled away from the nipple he'd been sucking, and smiled up at him.  
"Do you like this?" He asked as he pinched his other nipple.

Roman nodded almost immediately, "yes, it feels really good." He moaned.

"Good," Virgil said, "I want you to feel good tonight." He said, before letting go of his nipple and shifting so that he could suck the nipple he'd previously been punching and twisting.

Roman squirmed as he began to suck and pinch his nipples again, letting out small moans.

He eventually pulled away, and smiled as he looked down at Romans red puffy nipples. They'd probably be sore for a few days, so Virgil get a little bad, but he knew Roman had liked it.

He moved to kiss down Romans body some more, but was stopped his a hand in his hair.

"N-no more," Roman said softly, "I can't- I-I want to get started." He admitted, his face flushed from embarrassment as he looked down at Virgil shyly.

Virgil smiled up at him, "Alright," He said as he sat up. "We can get started now." He said. "Do you want to do the prep or me?" He asked.

"You, if you don't mind." Roman said.

"I don't mind at all." Virgil said as he reached across the bed and grabbed the lube.

He shifted to the side so that Roman could get comfortable while Virgil spread some lube on his fingers, letting it heat up a big.

He turned and saw that Roman had laid a pillow down and draped one of the towels over it, his hips and lower back resting on the pillow, putting his body in a slightly arched position, with his legs spread and folded, his feet planted firmly on the mattress.

Virgil moved so that he was seated between Romans knees, and reached down to gently prod at his entrance with his lubed fingers.

"Tell me what the safe-word is." He said, spreading the lube around a bit.

"Parchment." Roman said as he looked up at him. "But remember that you can say it too." He said.

Virgil smiled. "I'll remember." He said, before gently pushing the top of his pointer finger inside.

They'd been prepping for this all week, so Roman wasn't as tight as he could have been if they hadn't, so the first finger slipped inside with relative ease and minimal discomfort.

Virgil carefully and meticulously worked Roman open, eventually slipping a second finger inside and stretching him out, gently scissoring his fingers and adding more lube when necessary.

Roman was taking it wonderfully, letting out soft moans and tell Virgil when to wait and if he needed him to either shift his fingers or just stop for a second.

They purposefully went slow, wanting to make sure that Roman was nicely stretched out so that the chance of him getting hurt was very low.

Virgil now had three fingers inside of Roman, and pumped them in and out a few more times before pulling them out all the way.

He poured more of the lube into his hand, and covered his cock in a generous layer, wanting it to go in smoothly.

Virgil carefully lined himself up with Romans entrance while looking down at Romans flushed face. His lips were cherry red and swollen, and his pupils were blown wide.

"You ready?" He asked, gently rubbing Romans thigh.

Roman nodded as he looked up at him, "yes, I'm ready." He said, his voice soft.

Virgil nodded and shifted to hold Romans waist, before slowly pushing inside of him.

Roman gasped softly at the sudden stretch, gripping onto the sheets as he closed his eyes and moaned softly, wincing a little bit.

Virgil hesitated before continuing to slowly push in, making sure to stop every so often so that Roman could get used to the feeling and the stretch, not wanting to hurt him. He cooed softly and mumbled praises to him, telling him he was doing amazing, that he was doing such a good job, and reminding him to take deep breaths and to tell him if it was too much.

Roman was panting softly by the time he was all the way inside. His eyes were squeezed shut and his cheeks were flushed and his head was tilted to the side, but when Virgil was all the way in he slowly opened his eyes and turned his head to look up at Virgil.

"You still doing okay?" Virgil asked as he gently rubbed Romans hips

Roman nodded, "Yeah, yeah I'm great," he said, sounding out of breath, "just give me a minute." He added softly.

"Of course." Virgil said reassuringly, "you're doing so well." He said, smiling as Romans blush grew darker.

They stayed still for a while, letting Roman get used to the stretch since Virgil didn't want to hurt him. It wasn't super painful since they'd been carefully preparing for this, if they hadn't then it would be much worse right now.

Virgil picked up their container of lube and rubbed a bit more around Romans entrance, wanting to keep it nice and slick.

"You can move now," Roman said softly a few minutes later, "just...slow." He added.

Virgil nodded, "I promise I'll be gentle," he said, "tell me if it hurts." He added, before beginning to slowly pull out.

The feeling made Roman shudder slightly, and he closed his eyes as he moved to gently grip the sheets again.

Virgil continued to slowly pull out until only the head of his cock was inside of him, before moving his hold from Romans hips to the mattress on either side of his waist, slowly pushing back in, not as slow as he went the first time though.

Their slow pace of push and pull went on for a minute or so, Roman humming softly every now and then before opening his eyes.

"You can go a bit faster," he said softly.

"Are you sure?" Virgil asked, not wanting to rush things.

"Yeah I'm sure," Roman said with a nod.

Virgil nodded back, and carefully began to move faster, moaning softly as he felt Roman tighten around him.

Roman also moaned, and his grip on the sheets tightened a little as he tilted his head back in pleasure.

"Everything still good?" Virgil asked after a bit.

Roman nodded again, not opening his eyes. "Feels good, really really good." He mumbled.

Virgil nodded and continued to thrust into him, slowly picking up the pace and drawing out louder moans from Roman.

"You're doing such a good job, taking me so well," he said softly. He and Roman had talked during the week, and Roman had shyly and somewhat hesitantly admitted that he kinda liked being told he was good or that he was doing good, and Virgil happily agreed to practically shower him with praise. "You're making me feel so good, you're doing so well baby, I love you." He continued, smiling as Romans cheeks darkened and he let out an embarrassed whine.

He continued to move, shifting his hips every now and then to try a different angle to see which felt best to Roman, eventually finding a spot that had Roman gasping and keening, his face flushing a delicious shade of red.

"Oh sweetheart do you want me to aim for there again? Did it feel good?" He asked as he smiled down at him.

"Yesss, yes please." Roman moaned, panting as he moved to drape his arm over his own eyes.

"Good job telling me what you want and what you like," Virgil said, "you're doing so good, Roman, you're so amazing."

Virgil panted softly as he continued to thrust into him at that angle, moaning as Roman reached up and tangled his fingers in Virgil's hair tightly before dragging him down into a searing hot kiss, he moaned into the kiss and his grip tightened on Virgil's dark locks as Virgil moved his hips faster.

Roman was loud and moaned with every thrust, his voice getting louder and higher in pitch whenever Virgil went in harder than usual, his back arching as he keened and pulled away from the kiss.

"You sound so good baby," Virgil said as he sat back up a little, and moved one of his hands to slowly wrap around Romans cock, earning a sharp gasp, followed by Roman making a high pitch moan as he arched his back, his thighs quivering.

Virgil smiled as began to pump Romans cock while still thrusting into him. Roman looked entirely blissed out, his skin flushed red and beaded with sweat, his thighs trembling while he rolled his hips. He was panting and moaning, and even though his was covering his eyes Virgil could guess that his pupils were blown wide as well.

Virgil rubbed his thumb against the head of Romans cock, making Roman whine and roll his hips.

Virgil moved his hips a little faster and continued to rub the head of Romans cock-

"P-p-parchment, parchment..." Roman suddenly stuttered out with a small whine.

Virgil immediately stopped, taking his hand off of Romans hips and pulling out of him, frowning slightly.

Roman sagged into the mattress, panting heavily, "Thank you." He mumbled softly.

"Of course baby." Virgil said softly as he moved out from between Romans legs and shifted to sit next to him. "Is everything okay? Did I hurt you?" He asked worriedly as he gently brushed the hair out of Romans face.

Roman shook his head, "no no you didn't hurt me," he said, "it was just little too much." He said. "Just a bit too much happening all at once."

Virgil nodded and gently cupped Romans cheek, "do you want to stop for tonight?" He asked.

Roman nuzzled into the palm of Virgil's hand and shook his head again. "No, we don't need to stop," he said, "just a small break, and maybe we could do something else instead." He said.

"We can take a break," Virgil said, "do you want some water? Or some of the dried fruit?" He asked.

"Some water would be good." Roman admitted softly.

Virgil nodded and got up from the bed, quickly walking into the bathroom to get him some water.

He came back with a glass of water, and set it on the bedside table before helping Roman to sit up, propping him up with a pile of pillows behind him.

Roman thanked him and drank the whole cup of water before relaxing into the mound of pillows, while lifting and arm and gesturing for Virgil to 'come here'.

Virgil got up onto the bed and snuggled up to Romans side, pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek before relaxing into the pillows as well.

They stayed like that for a while, letting Roman calm down and take a break for a bit. Neither of them were in any sort of rush to get back into things, wanting to keep the experience nice and stress free.

Roman turned to Virgil after roughly twenty minutes. "Do you want to start things up again?" He asked softly as he pressed his face against Virgil's shoulder.

"You sure?" Virgil asked. "We can still rest for a bit if you want."

Roman shook his head, "no I'm good now," he said, "but I think I'd like to do something different." He admitted shyly.

"That's okay, I don't mind." Virgil said as he pressed a kiss to Romans temple. "What do you want to do instead?" He asked.

Roman hummed softly, "well, I can give you a hand job? I would offer a blow job, but I, um, I don't really want to suck your cock after you had it inside of me." He said sheepishly.

Virgil laughed softly, "that's okay, you don't have to do anything you don't want to." He said. "Do you want me to give you a blow job? Or is that still a bit too much right now?" He asked.

"I think I'll be okay with a blow job." Roman said. "But I'll tell you if it's still too much." He added.

Virgil nodded. "Alright," he said, "do you want to lay down?" He asked.

"Actually," Roman began, "I'd like to do you first since I think I'll be to tired if I go first." He said. "If that's okay with you though." He added.

"Yeah, that's okay with me." Virgil said. "Can I kiss you while you do it? Maybe play with your nipples again if it's not to much?" He asked.

"I think I'd be okay with that." Roman said with a smile. "But I'll tell you if their too sensitive." He added.

Virgil nodded and carefully sat up. "Alright." He said.

"How do you want to do this?" He asked as Roman sat up.

"Well, maybe I could get in your lap and such? Or you could sit in mine? Or something else like that?" Roman suggested with a shrug.

"I'm fine either way." Virgil said, "whatever you're comfortable with." He added.

"Um, I guess I could start in your lap, and we could shift to having you in mine later if you want." Roman said with a shrug.

"Uh, sure? Whatever's fine." Virgil said with a shrug.

Roman nodded, and the two of them shifted into comfortable positions, with Roman in Virgils lap, facing him.

"You ready?" Roman asked as he pressed a kiss to Virgil's temple.

Virgil hummed softly and nodded as he looked his arms around Romans hips. "Ready." He said.

Roman smiled, before reaching down and gently wrapping his fingers around him, slowly beginning to stroke Virgil's soft cock, his erection having died down when they'd taken their break, and Virgil leaned his head against Romans shoulder as he closed his eyes with another hum.

"Does that feel good?" Roman asked softly, leaning his head down so that his mouth was near Virgil's ear.

Virgil nodded. "It does," he said, "your hand it warm." He added.

"Do you want me to use any lube to make it smoother?"

"Maybe a little."

Roman nodded and let go of Virgil's cock to pour a small dollop of lube onto his hand before stroking him again, pumping his cock at a slow even pace as he worked his erection back up. He muttered sweet nothings to Virgil as he continued to pleasure him, making Virgil flush from embarrassment.

Virgil leaned his head down and began to press kisses to Romans collarbone and pecs while Roman began to pump him faster. He eventually found one of his nipples and quickly sucked it into his mouth with a hum, smiling as he felt Roman shudder against him. He was probably still sensitive from earlier.

He began to suckle at his nipple as he moaned, giving it a few nips and rubbing it with his tongue as well, drawing out soft moans from Roman.

Roman began to pump Virgil's cock faster, having worked it up to being fully erect again.

Virgil moaned and squirmed a little bit, before moving his mouth to give Romans other nipple the same treatment.

Roman moaned and leaned his head down to rest on Virgil's shoulder as he began to rub the head of Virgil's cock with his thumb each time his hand was on the up-stroke.

Virgil pulled away from Romans nipple as he moaned, pressing his face to Romans chest as he squirmed a bit from the pleasure. His face was flushed bright red and he was sweating a bit, and he leaned heavily against Romans chest as he writhed a little.

"Wanna switch so you're in my lap? I'll be able to get a better grip on you that way." Roman said as he slowed his hand down, earning a small soft whine from Virgil.

"Yeah," Virgil said, sounding a little out of breath as he panted, "Yeah yeah sure."

Roman smiled and pulled his hand away before getting out of Virgil's lap. He grabbed one of the towels and laid it out flat on the bed, before sitting down next to it and gesturing for Virgil come get in his lap, who happily obliged.

He positioned them so that Virgil was facing away from him what his back to Romans chest, and that Virgil's legs were spread. The towel was laid in front of them, just in case.

Roman hooked his chin over Virgil's shoulder as he wrapped his hand around Virgil's cock, drawing out a moan and a small shiver from Virgil, who leaned his head back to rest on Romans shoulder.

"Sensitive are we?" Roman teased with a small laugh.

Virgil flushed brightly and turned his head to stick his tongue out at Roman, who only laughed again and leaned in to kiss him, which he happily returned, forgetting about his embarrassment for a second as Roman slipped his tongue into his mouth.

Roman began to pump his cock again, making Virgil moan into the kiss and relax against him.

The two eventually pulled away and Virgil shifted so that he could press his face against Romans neck as Roman used his other hand to rub the head of Virgil's cock while the other continued to pump it, drawing out a string of moans from Virgil's lips as he arched his back a little, his thighs trembling a bit.

"You still doing good? It's not too much?" Roman asked as Virgil rolled his hips a bit.

"Yesss, it feels s-so good, it's not too much," Virgil moaned, closing his eyes as he draped himself against Romans chest.

"Good, I want you to feel good." Roman said as he pulled one of his hands away to spread Virgil's legs a bit farther apart before bringing it back to his cock.

Virgil lasted for maybe another minute before cumming. He squealed softly and arched his back as Roman continued to pump his cock through his orgasm, before flopping bonelessly against Romans chest when Roman let go, moaning softly as he panted.

Roman reached forward and wiped his hands off on the towel, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of Virgil's head.

"Need to take a break before me?" He asked.

Virgil shook his head, and lifted himself up a bit. "No, I don't need to take a break." He said.

"Well, Alright, but it's okay if you do need or want one." Roman reminded.

Virgil nodded, "I know." He said as he crawled out of Romans lap and turned to face him. "How do you want to do this?" He asked.

Roman shrugged, "what ways are you comfortable doing this?" He asked.

"Well, I could kneel on a pillow on the floor while you sit or stand, or you could lay down and I could be between your legs, or something." Virgil said. "Whatever sounds good to you is fine." He added.

"I wouldn't mind laying down for it," Roman said, "you sure that's okay with you?" He asked.

"I wouldn't have suggested it if I wasn't." Virgil said with a smile.

"I suppose that's true." Roman said as he shifted to lay down, propping his head up on a few pillows.

He bent his knees up and spread his legs, planting his feet on the mattress as Virgil moved in between his knees.

"Can I hold your hair? Or no?" Roman asked as he watched Virgil shift so that his face was a few inches away from his cock.

"You can hold my hair, and it's okay if you pull, I don't mind." He said, before reaching forwards and gently wrapping his hand around Romans semi-erect cock. He must've gotten a bit excited when he had been pleasuring Virgil earlier.

Roman hummed softly and nodded, "alright," he said. "And just move back if you need a break." He added.

"I will." Virgil said, giving his cock a couple of strokes before leaning forwards to kiss the tip, earning another hum from Roman, who relaxed into the pillows.

Virgil continued to pepper the head of his cock and it's shaft with searing hot kisses, occasionally stroking him with his hand as well, working Roman back up to a full erection.

At some point Roman had carded his fingers into Virgil's hair, tangling his fingers in his dark locks as Virgil liked up his cock from base to tip, drawing out a soft moan.

"You ready?" Virgil asked softly as he licked and kissed the head of Romans now fully erect cock.

"Gosh yes," Roman said with a moan, "geez you're good at this." He muttered.

Virgil flushed brightly from embarrassment, before pushing it away and pressing one last kiss to the tip before taking the head of his cock into his mouth, earning a moan from Roman, who also tightened his grip on Virgil's hair a bit.

Virgil hummed softly as he began to suck and roll his tongue against the head. He tasted different than Patton, but he could tell what it was that made him taste different. He knew it was silly to think it'd taste the same, but he couldn't help being a little surprised that they did taste different.

He began to shallowly bob his head, drawing out a few more moans from Roman as he took a bit more of his cock into his mouth.

"Oh gosh Patton was right," Roman mumbled softly with a moan as he tilted his head back and closed his eyes while gently pulled at Virgil's hair.

Virgil would have to ask him about that later, for now he was more focused on drawing out more sweet sounds from Romans lips, wanting him to feel good.

He steadily took more of his cock into his mouth, bobbing his head as he sucked and rolled his tongue against him. He soon had almost all of his cock in his mouth, Romans thighs trembling as he moaned and pulled at Virgil's hair.

He bobbed his head up and down, taking as much of him into his mouth as he could without choking. He kept his teeth away from the sensitive skin, and couldn't help moaning softly as Roman arched his back and pulled Virgil's hair.

Roman forced himself to not roll his hips, not wanting to hurt Virgil, even though his body really wanted to buck up into his mouth for more pleasure. "V-Virgil I'm close..." Roman moaned as he squirmed a bit, panting softly as he looked down at Virgil.

Virgil hummed in response, before continuing to pleasure him, taking him as deep as he could and swallowing around him several times while still sucking, pulling another string of moans from between Romans lips.

"O-oh gosh, oh go-ah!- g-gosh, oh goossshhh...." Roman mumbled over and over again as his back arched, his thighs trembling as he panted and moaned heavily. "Virgil, v-virgil, virgil..."

Virgil pulled up until only the head of Romans cock was in his mouth, before proceeding to smother it with attention, sucking harshly and rubbing his tongue against the sensitive parts until Roman came.

Roman came with a squeal-like moan, his body jerking as his back arched and his legs tried to press together, only stopped by Virgil since he was in the way. He tugged harshly at Virgil's hair as well, which drew out a small moan from him as well.

Virgil licked at the head through Romans orgasm, breathing heavily through his nose before pulling off of him with a small pop once Roman went limp.

He clumsily reached around the bed for one of the towels, dragging it over and spitting out Romans cum into it, before rolling it up and setting it aside.

This is where it's over, so that if any of y'all want to read the cute fluff you can just skip to here!!!

He sat up and turned to Roman, who was leaning back onto his pillows with his eyes closed, panting and sweaty.

"You good?" He asked softly as he brushed some of Romans hair out of his face.

Roman slowly opened his eyes and smiled up at him. "Yeah, yeah I'm good." He said as he turned to press a kiss to the palm of Virgil's hand, "so so good." He added softly.

Virgil blushed and smiled back at him. "Good." He said. "Do you want to wait for a bit, or go get cleaned up now?" He asked.

"We can go now," Roman said, "the sooner we're clean the sooner we can go to bed and cuddle." He added as he tiredly sat up.

Virgil laughed softly before getting up and out of the bed. "That's true." He said.

Roman carefully stood up, his legs trembling a bit, before stumbling slightly when he tried to walk. Virgil quickly wrapped an arm around his waist to support him with a small frown.

"Easy there," He said softly, "you sure you're good?" He asked.

"Yeah I'm fine," Roman said, "just a bit shaky after all that." He said sheepishly.

Virgil relaxed a little, some of his worry going away as he nodded and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Well, Alright," He said, "Come on, I'll help you to the bathroom." He said.

The two of them carefully made their way into the bathroom, Roman still a bit shaky.

"I'm gunna bush my teeth real quick, you can go ahead and get in the bath though." Virgil said. The bath water was really hot earlier, so it's temperature was probably at least lukewarm.

Roman nodded, "alright," he said, pressing a kiss to Virgil's temple before pulling away to get into the bath while Virgil went to brush his teeth.

Roman dunk down into the water with a small sigh. It wasn't warm, but it wasn't really cold either, but it didn't matter because it felt good on his heated and still slightly sensitive skin, and he quickly made himself comfortable with a small hum.

He listened to Virgil brush his teeth, his eyes closed as he waited for him to finished up and get in the bath with him.

"You comfy?" Virgil asked from next to him.

Roman nodded, not opening his eyes yet. He heard the water swish as Virgil carefully stepped in and settled down next to him in the water.

"Hmmm, this is nice." Virgil said as he snuggled up to Romans side.

"It is." Roman said softly as he pressed a few gentle kisses to the top of Virgil's head. He knew the two of them should be washing up instead of just sitting there, but he didn't really want to move, and he didn't think Virgil did either.

They sat there for several minutes, just soaking peacefully while sharing a few occasional kisses, which were followed by soft murmurs of sweet nothings.

Virgil reluctantly sat up when his fingers began to get wrinkly, deeming it time they actually wash up and get to bed.

Roman pouted and grumbled softly when Virgil pulled away, but quickly began washing up with him, wanting to get it over with so they could go back to cuddling.

He grabbed one of the wash rags from the side of the tub and went about actually washing up, only to hiss softly when the rough rag grazed over one of his nipples.

"You good?" Virgil asked as he turned to Roman, having just finished washing up.

Roman pouted, "my nipples are really sore." He said.

"Awe poor baby." Virgil said teasingly as he moved to press a kiss to his cheek before getting up to grab one of the fluffy towels waiting for them, playfully pinching one of his nipples before quickly getting out of the tub.

Roman made a small whine sound and moved a hand up to sooth his still sore nipple, before turning to pout at Virgil. "You're so mean." He whines softly as he also got up and out of the water. "I'm gunna asked Logan to get back at you for this when you too have your night." He said, sticking his tongue out at Virgil.

Virgil stuck his tongue out back at him. "Do your worst." He said with a small laugh as he dried off.

Roman smirked. "Okay." He said, before quickly stepping forward and digging his fingers into Virgil side, tickling his ribs.

Virgil squealed softly and jerked away as he dropped his towel. "Hey, no fair I-" he was cut off as Roman followed him, tickling both of his sides and drawing out another small squeal and a small bundle of laughs from him.

"Nooo stop," Virgil said with a laugh as he ducked away and scrambled out of the bathroom, quickly grabbing one of the pillows off the bed and holding it defensively.

"Awe, how cute," Roman said as he followed him out of the bathroom, "a simple pillow isn't going to stop me." He said as he stalked forward towards him.

Virgil raised the pillow. "Don't test me, I will smack you with this." He said as he took a small step back, but didn't go very far since his shin hit the edge of the bed.

" 'Do your worst'." Roman said, mimicking Virgil from earlier, before rushing forwards and tackling Virgil to the bed with a laugh, earning a small squeal from Virgil, who quickly began to hit him with the pillow and squirm as Roman dug his fingers into his sides and around his neck, pulling out a string of giggles from between his lips.

"Roman!" Virgil said as Roman snatched the pillow away before tickling him more, "stop!" He said, although he was laughing and smiling.

"Awe, you want me to stop?" Roman asked as he continued to tickle him, fluttering his fingers of his sensitive skin with a grin. "How do you ask?" He said teasingly.

"P-please stop!" Virgil said, stuttering with giggles, his face red from laughing.

"Please stop what?" Roman asked as he smirked down at him.

"Roman," Virgil said with a whine, "please stop tickling me!" He said as he writhed underneath him, squirming like a little worm.

"Hmm, I suppose." Roman said as he slowly pulled his fingers away, letting Virgil catch his breath.

He looked down at Virgil, and couldn't help smiling.  
His face was flushed red, along with his ears and shoulders. He was panting softly and had a wide grin across his face. He looked so cute, and Roman felt his heart flutter at the sight.

He gently reached forwards and cupped Virgil's cheek, rubbing his cheekbone with his thumb.

"Thanks." Virgil said, sounding a bit breathless as he leaned into his touch.

"Come one giggles, let's get dressed and go to bed." Roman said as he reluctantly pulled his hand away and got up off of Virgil, letting him sit up.

The two quickly got dressed, pulling on their boxers and pajamas before turning all the light out and crawling back into bed, cuddling up under the covers.

"Want any of the dried fruit?" Virgil asked softly as he nuzzled against Romans chest, making sure to not touch his nipples.

"Nah, I'm good for now, but you can have some if you want." Roman said as he gently rubbed Virgil's scalp with one hand and his back with the other.

Virgil shook his head, "no, I'm not hungry right now." He said. "Just wanna cuddle."

"Well that's good, cause thats what I want to do as well." Roman said, "what a funny coincidence." He added as he let his fingers tickles his ribs a little.

Virgil jerk softly before turning to glare at Roman. "If you start that again then I'll bite your nipple instead of pinching it next time." He said.

"Oh, kinky." Roman said with a small laugh as Virgil flushed bright red and spluttered. "I'm just teasing love." He quickly reassured as he moved his hand to continue rubbing his back.

"Good." Virgil said. "But I wasn't." He added, earning another laugh from Roman.

They laid there for a few moments in silence, content with each other's presence.

"So what did you mean earlier?" Virgil began, "when you said 'Oh gosh Patton was right'."

Roman blushed slightly. "Well, I was a bit nervous before doing this tonight so I asked Patton how your night had gone," he said, "he said you two had had fun and that you had been really good at that." He said sheepishly.

Virgil blushed brightly. "Ah, okay." He said with a shy smile. "We did have fun, and I'm glad the two of your thought I did well." He said.

Roman pressed a kiss to Virgil's forehead. "You did amazing." He said, making Virgil's blush darken as he buried his face in Romans chest. "I love you."

"I hate you." Virgil mumbled.

Roman laughed and held Virgil closer, pressing kisses to the top of his head before humming softly and curling up a bit more, yawning softly.

"Goodnight Vee." He said as he closed his eyes.

Virgil snuggled closer to him. "Good night Roman." He said, curling closer to him.

"I love you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here was this chapter!  
Again, over 7000 words!!
> 
> I hope yalls liked it, the next chapter will be out soon, I promise! I'm so sorry for taking so long!
> 
> And I'm still taking requests!! So don't be afraid to comment or PM me!!!
> 
> Bye!!!!!!


	51. Chapter 38 part 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the final part of chapter 38! Hopefully yalls like it!!  
Anyway:
> 
> _NSFW WARNING- there will be sex. I will put in another warning each time it's about to happen_
> 
> MORE NOTES PLEASE READ:
> 
> Please have safe sex when or if you ever have sex, these chapters are not guides on how to have sex.  
Don't think of this as a guide because it is not.  
I did research for this on several safe websites with information from doctors and experts who know how to do this, you can also do research for this if you're actually interested in something that happens in these chapters. 
> 
> Again, please do not use these chapters as guides.
> 
> Thank you.
> 
> I will not have them use a condom in this since I don't think they had any latex condoms back then and I don't want to have them use condoms made out of sheepskin or animal bladders. So yeah.
> 
> Please use a condom or a dental dam if you have those parts and need them or are doing oral or penetrative sex on or with those parts.  
Unless you are trying to impregnate I guess.
> 
> Anyway.
> 
> Prompt: "everyones first time with Virgil" (individual, so like only Logan and Virgil, only Patton and Virgil, and only Roman and Virgil)
> 
> There will be background first times between Roman and Logan, Roman and Patton, and Patton and Logan as well.
> 
> This will be a multi-part chapter as well! Otherwise it would be VERY long.

-Virgil and Logan-

Virgil nervously fiddling with the hem of his pajama shirt as he walked down the hall towards Logan's room, the soft pattern of his bare feet on the cold floor the only sound. He'd just left Patton room, since they'd gotten ready together, and Logan's room was a bit farther down the hall from him.

He gave Roman a shy smile as he passed him, the other heading over to Patton's room after having gotten ready in Logan's room.

"Have fun." Roman said with a wink that made Virgil blush, and quickly stutter out a 'you too'.

He eventually stopped in front of Logan's door and took a deep breath, remembering what Patton had told him just a few minutes ago.

It's okay to be nervous. It's a very intimate thing and doing stuff like this can be nerve wracking. He just needed to trust Logan and to trust himself. Everything would be fine.

He hesitantly reached forward and knocked on the door, cringing at how loud it sounded.

"Come in." Logan called from inside, his voice slightly muffled due to the door.

Virgil reached forward and twisted the doorknob before slowly pushing the door open and nervously looking inside.

Logan's room was always neat. There was a place for everything, and everything was in its place.  
He had a large bed with a thick dark blue blanket and white pillows, and the frame of the bed was a dark and cool brown that went well with the blue blanket. He had a small rug next to his bed, and a lamp on the bedside table that matched the wood of the bed frame. He had a bookshelf next to his desk near the window, with has a few neat stacks of paper, and the bookshelf was almost completely stuffed with books.  
There was a small door off to the side that lead to a bathroom, since Virgil had insisted that the three of them have rooms with connected bathrooms, and Virgil was sure the bathroom was just as neat and well kept as the rest of Logan's room.  
There were little bits of decorations as well, a painting Virgil had made for him hung in the wall, a small owl statue sat underneath the lamp on the bedside table, there was a small vase with a few dried up flowers in it, and a few other small little nick-nacks littered throughout the room while still managing to look organized.  
It also looked like he had set out a couple of towels, one of their containers of lube, a glass of water, and a bowl of seasoned nuts.

Logan was sitting on the edge of his bed, dressed in his pajamas and waiting patiently, although he smiled at him when Virgil looked inside.

"Hello," He said softly, gesturing for Virgil to come inside.

Virgil stepped in and gently closed the door behind him before walking towards the bed. "Hi." He said.

"How are you feeling?" Logan asked as Virgil sat down next to him.

"Um, just a bit nervous." Virgil admitted.

"Ah, well that makes two of us." Logan said with a fond smile. "Are you still willing to do what we discussed?" He asked.

Virgil nodded. "Yeah I am, are you?"

"Yes I am," Logan said as he moved to gently hold Virgil's hand. "Is there anything else you would be interested in doing before we start that? Or would you like to go straight to it ?" He asked.

"Uh, I'm fine either way," Virgil said with a shrug as he gently squeezed Logan's hand, "do you want to do anything else?" He asked.

"Well, I did make Roman a promise..." Logan began, trailing off a bit.

"A promise?" Virgil asked.

"Yes, but if you don't wish to do it then we don't have too." Logan said reassuringly.

"What is it he wants us to do?" Virgil asked.

"Ahem, well," Logan blushed a small bit, "we said, and I quote, 'Can you get back at him for hurting my nipples? He was being mean and pinched them after I said they were sore'." He said, looking away from Virgil. "He's requested that I 'make you feel his pain'l he added.

"U-um, sure I suppose..." Virgil said, his cheeks flushed red. "Do you want to do that?" He asked.

"I, well, I might be slightly interested in the idea..." Logan admitted as he shifted awkwardly.

"Well, okay then, sure." Virgil said. "We can do something like that."

Logan nodded. "Alright," He said, "I suppose we should start then."

Virgil nodded. "Yeah." He said, before beginning to unbutton his shirt, Logan following his lead and unbuttoning his own as well.

They both quickly undressed, setting their clothes in neat piles at the foot of the bed. Virgil's face was flushed slightly as he looked over at Logan. "So..." he began awkwardly, trailing off.

"Would you lay down for me?" Logan asked softly. "Just on the pillows." He added.

Virgil nodded, "Sure." He said, before moving towards the head of the bed and laying down on his back with his knees propped up and his feet planted on the mattress, propping his head up slightly with a few pillows.

Logan moved in between Virgil's legs, and smiled down at him before leaning down and gently kissing him, holding himself up with his elbows pressed to the bed on either side of Virgil's head, just past the curve of his shoulders.

Virgil sighed contently and kissed him back while closing his eyes, shifting his legs a bit farther apart so Logan could change positions if he wasn't comfortable.

Logan lowered himself a bit into a position he'd be comfortable being in for an extended period of time, thanks to the additional room, and gently nibbled at Virgil's bottom lip, drawing out a small hum from the other male.

Virgil parted his lips slightly, allowing Logan to slip his tongue inside with ease as he brought his hand up to loosely wrap around Logan's shoulders.

Logan didn't do much exploring around Virgil's mouth, and really only dipped his tongue inside for a few seconds before slipping back out as he pulled away from the kiss.

Virgil opened his eyes for a second to look up at him, before closing them again with a small hum a few seconds later when Logan moved down to kiss at his neck, gently sucking at the spot above his pulse.

Logan began to gently nip at the skin and suck at some sensitive areas, making a constellation of hickies across his lower neck and collarbone -all in places he could cover up of course. Logan couldn't help but smile at the small moans and gasps he drew out from between Virgil's lips with each new addition to the galaxy he was creating on his skin.

He continued to move down his chest, gently biting and sucking at his pecs, until he reached his nipples. He sat back slightly and looked down at Virgil, who's face was flushed as he panted softly and looked up at Logan with half lidded eyes.

"You look beautiful." He said softly.

Virgil's blush somehow managed to darken even more as a small whine escaped him and he moved to cover his face. "Don't say that." He whined.

"Why not? It's the truth." Logan said as he leaned down close to him again, "You are beautiful," he began, placing a soft kiss to his collarbone. "exquisite, alluring, gorgeous, and elegant," he placed more kisses in a trail down to one of his nipples with each word, "you are heavenly, stunning, and irresistible." He said, pressing a kiss to the rosy nub after the last compliment, earning a small shiver from Virgil, who has absolutely flustered and was still covering his face. He continued to press gentle kisses to his nipple, before gently sucking it into his mouth, gaining a small gasp.

He began to diligently suck, periodically rolling his tongue against it as it hardened and perked up, making it easier to give attention to.

He moved one of his hands to stat pinching at his other nipple, causing it to quickly harden and perk up as well, and Logan suppressed his smile when he heard Virgil squeak softly.

Roman had asked him to 'avenge' his nipples, and as silly as the request seemed to Logan, he had agreed and would do so to the best of his ability, with Virgil's consent of course.

"Tell me if you need me to stop." He said, pulling away for a second before quickly going back down and sucking his nipple into his mouth.

Virgil moaned softly and moved to tangle his fingers in Logan's short dark hair when Logan grazed his teeth over his nipple, another shiver going down his spine. "I-I will." He stuttered softly, tilting his head back to rest on the pillows.

Logan gave his nipple and experimental bite, not hard or anything, just a small bit of pressure. The bite earned another gasp from Virgil, followed by a soft moan. Logan took that as a good response, and added gentle bites to his pattern of sucking and rubbing his tongue against his nipple, making Virgil squirm slightly.

He was still pinching and twisting his other nipple as well, the actions earning him a few more squeaks and moans.

He eventually bit down on Virgil's nipple, a bit harder than he had been, and kept it in place as he began to suck harshly at it and roughly rub his tongue against it.

Virgil gasped as he jerked his chest back slightly on instinct, but since Logan's teeth had a good enough grip on his nipple all he managed to do was make it feel like his nipple was being pulled, which made him whine softly.

Logan bit down a little harder and shifted his teeth's hold on the nipple, earning a small squeal and another whine. He didn't stop though, trusting Virgil to tell him if he needed him to stop.

He eventually released his teeth, and roughly rubbed his tongue against the sore nipple, earning a moan and a small shudder from Virgil.

He pulled off his nipple and looked down at Virgil's face. His cheeks were flushed red and his jaw was hung open slightly as he panted. His bottom lip was a bit swollen and looked like he'd been biting it, and his eyes looked a bit misty as well.  
But he still trusted Virgil to tell him to stop, so he moved to give Virgil's other nipple the same treatment he'd given the first, moving his other hand to pinch and twist at his already red and sore nipple.

Virgil whined and squirmed a bit. "Is this all Romans grudge or are you enjoying this now?" He asked with a pout, before gasping softly as he nipped at his nipple.

Logan pulled away for a second and smirked up at him. "It might be both, who knows." He said, before moving down to continue.

By the time Logan pulled away for good Virgil's nipples were sore and red, his entire face, his shoulders, and his ears were bright red, and he was panting softly.

"Remind me to never tease Roman again." He said softly with a small moan as Logan pressed a gentle kiss to his neck.

"Hmm, no I don't think I will." Logan said. "I actually...may have liked that." He added somewhat shyly as he moved back a bit to give Virgil more room.

"Oh really?" Virgil asked as he sat up.

"Perhaps." Logan said.

"Hmm, I'll have to remember that." Virgil said with a smile.

Logan's cheeks flushed slightly and he looked away as he cleared his throat. "Anyway, would you like to begin the prepping? Or is there anything else you'd still like to do before hand?" He asked.

Virgil shook his head, "there's not really anything else I'd like to do, anything for you?" He asked.

"No, I'm quite ready to begin." Logan said. "Would you like to do the prepping or have me?" He asked.

Virgil's blushed and shifted awkwardly, "...you." He said shyly.

Logan smiled and nodded, "Alright," he said as he leaned forwards to press a kiss to his cheek. "Lets get you comfortable then." He added.

Logan quickly went about making a small stack of pillows, only two high, and laid a towel on top of them, before putting the other towel around it at the base of the small stack.

He sat back and let Virgil move into position, straddling the stack of pillows until his hips rested on top of them, looking like he was doing the Child's pose but with his thighs straight and not folded, keeping his rear up and his knees and shins firmly planted on the mattress and his face buried in a different pillow he'd snatched away from the head board. Logan couldn't see it, but Virgil's face was flushed bright red. And Virgil couldn't see it, but Logan's face was almost as read as his.

Logan grabbed the lube he'd set aside earlier and poured a generous amount onto three of his fingers before shifting closer to Virgil.

"You ready?" He asked as he gently rubbed his thigh.

Virgil hummed softly and lifted his face from his pillow to mutter a quick 'yes' before moving to bury his face again.

Logan couldn't help but smile slightly as he nodded and moved to gently prod at his entrance with his lubed fingers, watching as Virgil stiffened a bit.

"You'll need to relax, this'll be harder if you don't." He said softly as he carefully pushed his index finger inside of him to around his second knuckle. Virgil's breath hitched slightly at the intrusion, but tried to force his muscles to relax. It didn't work very well, since he could t really force it, he'd need to actually relax.

But, just like Roman, he'd been preparing for at least a few days in advance, which made this process much easier than it could have been. Of course, it felt a bit weird since it was someone else doing it and not himself, but it wasn't bad.

Logan slowly pushed in the rest of his finger, carefully working him open before slipping in a second, stretching him while drawing out small moans and gasps from Virgil, each sound muffled by the pillow his face was buried in.

Logan pulled his fingers out and applied a bit more lube to them before pushing back inside, wanting to keep it nice and smooth and comfortable while he scissored and curled his fingers. He eventually pushed the third finger inside as well, earning a small moan from Virgil as he began to slowly pump his fingers in and out. 

Both of them were hard by the time he was nicely stretched out, and Virgil was a sweating a bit as well. He felt excited and nervous as Logan pulled his fingers out and began to lube up his cock.

"Do you still want this?" Logan asked as he gently squeezed Virgil's hip.

Virgil nodded and pulled away from his pillow, "Yeah I do, do you?"

"Yes I do," Logan said, "can you tell me our safe-word?" He asked.

"Parchment." Virgil said.

"Good," Logan said with a small nod as he lined himself up with Virgil's entrance, rubbing a bit more lube around the rim even though it wasn't necessary.  
"Tell me if you need me to be slower or if you need me to change anything." He added as he moved to securely hold Virgil's hips before carefully pushing.

Virgil moaned softly and let his head fall down and back to the pillow as the head of Logan's cock pushed past his rim, stretching him a little bit. Then after a few seconds he continued to push in slowly, periodically stopping to give him a second to breathe and get used to it, only fully stopping when he bottomed out and he was fully inside.

"Are you still doing well?" Logan asked as he gently massaged his hips.

Virgil moaned and nodded his head as he said 'yes', his voice muffled by the pillow but still clear enough for Logan to understand.

"Good, I will wait until you are ready for me to move." He said reassuringly.

And he did. He didn't so much as twitch his hips as he waited for Virgil to give him the go-ahead, only rubbing and massaging his hips gently as he got used to his size and the stretch. But, since they'd prepped so well it didn't take too long before Virgil was ready.

"Okay," Virgil said softly as he turned his head so Logan could hear him clearly, "you can, you can move." He said, shifting slightly.

"Alright, tell me if you want me to do anything different." He said, before gripping his hips tighter and slowly pulling out of him.

He slowly pulled out until on the head was inside of him, before slowly rolling his hips forward, pushing all the way inside again, moving slowly and carefully so that Virgil could get used to the movement.

Obviously despite their prep and the waiting it still hurt a little bit, and the dull ache had Virgil gripping onto his pillow tightly. But it also felt good, really good even, so he couldn't help the small moans that would occasionally escape him.

Logan slowly but surely began to move faster, finding a good angle and gripping Virgil's hips to secure them into place.

"Is everything still alright?" He asked.

Virgil moaned and nodded into the pillow, gripping it tighter.

"Words please." Logan said softly, and Virgil could practically hear his smile.

Virgil blushed but still pulled his head away from the pillow. "Yes, everything is great." He said softly, his breath hitching slightly as Logan increased the pace again, before shoving his face back into his pillow.

"That's good." Logan said, before gripping his hips tighter as he adjusted his position to match the new pace, earning a small bundle of moans from Virgil.

He couldn't see it, but Logan was staring at him as he continued to roll his hips, remembering a few of the things he'd discussed with Patton and with Roman while Virgil was in his lessons or as they cuddled at night. Maybe if he offered...

"Virgil," Logan began, slowing down a little.

Virgil hummed and turned his head to the side to look back at him. "What's up?" He asked, panting softly.

"Well, I was discussing some things with Roman and with Patton recently," he continued. "and they both said they thought they'd found something that you liked, and I am wondering if I may try it." He said.

Virgil hummed softly in confusion. "What is it?" He asked, a little bit suspicious.

"They seem to have come up with the idea that you enjoy having your hair pulled, to an unknown extent," Logan said, "I would like to delve into this if it is okay with you, and remember that you can say no." He added.

Virgil's already flushed face had steadily grown shades darker as Logan spoke, going from a bright cherry to a dark plum. Did he like having his hair pulled? Now that he thought about it, it had felt good when one of the others had gripped his hair while he'd been pleasuring them, and it had sent tingles down his spine when Roman had pulled at his hair...

"S-sure, we can try that." Virgil said shyly.

"Are you certain? You are allowed to say no." Logan said, repeating himself.

"Yeah I'm sure," Virgil said, "just, let go if I ask?" He said, although it sounded more like a question.

"Of course," Logan said with a small smile as he leaned down to press a kiss to the nape of his neck, the movement causing him to press deeper inside of him as he leaned over him, earning a small moan from Virgil that was quickly muffled once again by the pillow.

Logan went back to rocking his hips, keeping both of his hands firmly on Virgil's hips for now. He wanted to let Virgil get back into the movements before testing to see if he liked getting his hair pulled like Patton and Roman seemed to think.

He eventually picked up the pace again, and Virgil moaned every now and then when he rolled his hips and pushed inside just right, his voice muffled by the pillow he was hugging.

Logan decided that now would be a good time to try it out and see if Virgil liked it. He trusted Virgil to tell him to stop if he needed to, so while he was still pushing into him, he pulled one of his hands away from its spot on Virgil's hip.

He reached forwards and carefully carded his fingers into place on Virgil head, threading his fingers through his hair at the roots near his scalp. He felt Virgil stiffen slightly as he secured his grip into his hair, so he decided to just wait a minute. He continued to roll his hips while keeping his hand tangled in Virgil's hair, not pulling yet so that Virgil could take his time to get used to it and see if he wanted to take back his decision.

He didn't say anything against it though, only relaxed again as he continued to moan into the pillow. Not hearing any form of protest, Logan began to cautiously pull at his hair, earning a slightly high pithed muffled moan from Virgil as he pressed his hips back to meet Logan's thrusts.

Logan, deciding to be a bit bold, pulled his hair even more, pulling Virgil's head back and away from the pillow, his moans no longer muffled as he writhed beneath him.

"Gosh Logan-!" Virgil cut himself off with another moan as he let Logan pull his hair even more and tilt his head back even farther. It felt good, Logan's tight grip on his hair pulling his whole head back, his scalp tingling with something that hovered on the line between pain and pleasure. It sent tingles down his spine as he squirmed.

"Do you need me to stop?" Logan asked, letting his grip on his hair loosen.

Virgil quickly shook his head. "No no, I-I like it," he admitted, "it feels good."

Logan hummed and quickly re-tangled his fingers into his locks and pulled his hair a bit harder, earning another moan from Virgil. "I see," he said, "then I will continue until you no longer want it." He said, before rolling his hips forwards and pulling his hair back at the same time, earning a much louder moan from him.

The new factor seemed to unravel Virgil even further and faster than he already was. He was embarrassed about the sounds he was making that he couldn't muffle with the pillow anymore due to Logan's hold on his hair, but said hold on his hair made him squirm and moan all on its own, and that added with the constant rolling of his hips and thrusting inside of him made almost everything feel good, even the hand gripping his hip felt good.

"Are you getting close Virgil?" Logan asked as he moved faster and tightened his grip on Virgil's hair. His hands were getting sweaty and he didn't want his hold to slip, seeing how much Virgil seemed to enjoy it.

Virgil moaned and tried to nod, but failed since he couldn't really move his head forwards. "Use you're words Virgil." Logan said softly as he rocked his hips farther and pulled his hair a bit harder.

Virgil all but writhed beneath him. "Yes!", He said, his voice almost sounding like a whine, "Yes I'm- ha! Yes I'm c-close." He stuttered out with a moan.

"Good, because I am too." Logan said with a soft moan, although he couldn't help blushing at Virgil's answer. Was he really making him feel that good? Or was he stimulating him too much?

"Do you need me to slow down at all?" He asked.

Virgil shook his head, "n-no," He said, "it's good, please don't." He said as he subconsciously pushed his hips back to meet his thrusts, earning a soft moan from Logan. "Am I being too loud?" He asked, turning his head to look back at Logan with a nervous and embarrassed expression.

"No," Logan said as he tightened his grip on both his hip and his hair, earning a soft moan as Virgil tilted his head back to its pervious position, "I just wanted to make sure it wasn't too much." He reassured.

Virgil hummed softly as an answer and rolled his hips back to meet Logan's thrusts, earning a moan from Logan.

He continued to push his hips back to meet Logan, and moaned as he felt Logan speed up, his thrusts become less periodic and more sporadic as the taller male moaned, and his grip on his hair tightened and pulled harder, drawing out another bundle of soft moans and gentle whines from Virgil.

Virgil arched his back, feeling a bubbling and increasing heat forming in his gut.

"V-Virgil." Logan moaned as he rocked his hips harder. He could feel Virgil's thighs trembling, and knew that he wouldn't have been able to hold himself up if the pillows weren't there to support him. Logan was getting close, just like Virgil, and he accidentally dug his nails into his hip and subconsciously pulled his hair harder.

Virgil's moans quickly grew louder, and he reached up to cover his mouth since he couldn't muffle his voice with the pillow anymore. He was almost there. So close, so so close.

His hips suddenly jerked and he came with a small cry as his back arched again, his cum spilling out onto the towel Logan had draped over the pillows earlier.

Logan moaned as he felt Virgil tighten and convulse around him, moving his hips faster before letting go of Virgil's hip and quickly pulling out, stroking his cock only two times before cumming onto the other towel he'd spread out.

Virgil moaned softly let himself go limp as he panted heavily, his skin hot and sensitive.

Logan let go of Virgil's hair, panting as well, and leaned back slightly to he look at Virgil.

-This is where it's over, so that if any of y'all want to read the cute fluff you can just skip to here!!!-

"Are you Alright? I didn't hurt you did I?" He asked softly as he re-adjusted his glasses and combed the hair out of his red and sweaty face.

"No I'm fine," Virgil muttered softly as he rolled off of the pillows and onto his back to look at him, "just a bit tired." He added.

"That is expected," Logan said with a nod, "would you like me to go draw a bath now, or would you like to wait?" He asked.

Virgil hummed softly, "Whatever's fine," He closed his eyes and relaxed into the mattress, "I might fall asleep soon though." He added.

"Well we should probably clean up before going to bed, unless you'd like to sleep while still covered in sweat and...other substances." Logan said with a small blush.

Virgil groaned softly, "no I don't want that." He said, before forcing himself to sit up. "We should go clean up."

"You can wait here while I prepare the bath," Logan said as he got up and off of the bed, "there's water and roasted peanuts and dried fruit on the side table, drink and eat something while I'm gone." He said, pressing a quick kiss to Virgil's temple before heading into the bathroom to get a bath set up.

Virgil crawled up the bed and curled up a bit against the head board, sinking into some of the pillows as he reached over and grabbed the glass of water, taking a few sips while eyeing the bowl of nuts and dried fruits. He didn't feel very hungry at the moment, but maybe he'd eat some later.

Logan came back after a few minutes, saying that the bath was ready if Virgil was.

"Hmm, well I'm ready," virgil began, "but I don't wanna get up." He added as he sunk back into the pillows.

"Wells there is a simple solution for that." Logan said as he walked up to the edge of the bed next to Virgil.

He carefully yet quickly hooked his arms under Virgil's knees and under his back, and earned a small squeal as he picked him up suddenly.

Virgil quickly wrapped his arms around Logan's neck, not wanting to get dropped. "Logan! What are you-"

"You said you didn't want to get up, so carrying you should work." Logan cut him off with a smile, before he pressed a kiss to his temple as he began walking to the bathroom.

Virgil blushed brightly and hesitantly leaned his head against Logan's shoulder. "You know I was joking and am fine with walking." He said.

"Well, I want to carry you." Logan said as he stepped into the bathroom. "Even if I don't have to." He added, earning a blush from Virgil.

Instead of lowering Virgil into the water Logan decided to carefully step in himself and sit down, holding Virgil in his lap. "Is this alright?" He asked.

Virgil hummed and snuggled closer to Logan's chest as his muscles quickly relaxed in the warm water. "Yes," He said softly as he closed his eyes, earning a soft chuckle from Logan.

Logan must have put some sort of soap or bath salt into the water, since it smelled faintly of honeysuckles, the scent pleasant and somewhat soothing.

They stayed in the water for quite a while, just relaxing as they soaked, and Virgil had almost begun to drift off before they decided that they should probably wash up and get back to bed before he actually fell asleep.

They quickly washed up, the two only slowing down when Logan instead on washing Virgil’s hair, and had ended up massaging his scalp in a way that had Virgil humming and relaxing against him limply, practically turning to putty in his hands.

After they finally left the tub they dried off and got dressed in their pajamas again before curling up in Logan’s bed at the headboard.

“Would you like to eat something now?” Logan asked as he sat on the bed next to Virgil, who shrugged and nodded. He still wasn’t really hungry, but knew he should eat.

He reached over and grabbed the bowl of roasted nuts and dried fruits, setting it between them to snack on. He also had Virgil drink more water, while also drinking some himself, saying it was important to stay hydrated.

Eventually Virgil tucked himself into Logan’s side and relaxed against him, lazily drawing designs and patterns only he knew onto Logan’s stomach and thighs with the tip of his finger, while Logan plucked a book out of his bedside drawer and began to read, although he only used one hand, since the other was wrapped around Virgil’s waist.

They stayed silent for a while, purely content to just sit together quietly as they basked in the warmth of Logan’s room. It wasn’t until Virgil noticed the sun beginning to set out side that he looked up at logan.

“What’re you reading?” He asked, glancing at Logan’s book before back up at him.

“It’s a book on historic myths related to things in the world today,” Logan said as he looked down at Virgil, “like how the stars and planets were formed, or why it rains, and where rivers come from.” He said as he gently rubbed Virgil’s side.

Virgil hummed softly and snuggled closer to him. “Will you read some to me?” He asked.

Logan smiled, “of course.” He said as he shifted slightly before turning back to his book.

“Once there was a snake that came from deep in the dessert. It had only know sand all it’s life, but one day caught a sent of something fresh and salty on the breeze.  
The snake curiously followed the scent, and after many of days it reached a vast body of water, the ocean, and took a small, curious sip,” Logan began, his voice soft and soothing as he told the story.

“The snake like what it tasted. The water was so refreshing and so deliciously salty that it began to drink more. It liked it so much that the snake continued to drink the water until it was all gone and he had swollen to an unbelievable size, bigger than any of the sand dunes or far off mountains the snake had ever seen.  
After it had drunk all the water the snake slowly began to make its way across and around the world, leaving behind a maze of shallow valleys and trails as it journeyed.”

Virgil found himself slowly dozing off against Logan’s side, the sound of his soft and steady voice gently lulling him off to sleep.

“The snake laid eggs at one point in its travels, that caused pits to form in the earth due to their size. Soon young babies hatched, and began to follow along the trails their mother had created, although some broke off and made new oaths that branches off from their mothers, creating a complex system of pathways and valleys in their wake.” Logan continued, not noticing his partner having fallen asleep next to him as he read.

“But as the snake continued to travel it began to crave the taste of the ocean once again, and began to make its way back to the coast. But when it reached the sea again, hoping to get another drink of the delicious water, it was saddened to discover that there was no water left, forgetting that it had drunk all there was all that time ago.” He said, before carefully turning the page.

“In its sadness the snake began to weep over the loss of the sea, its tears cascading down into the empty chasm that had once held the ocean. the tears quickly turned into waterfalls and the chasm began to fill, before bleeding out into the the twisting valleys and trails and pits it and its children had left behind in their journeys, filling them with the water.” Logan read.

“Some of the babies, also craving the salty taste, made their beds in these newly filled rivers and lakes, soaking up all the salt into themselves as they sunk to the bottom, leaving the water fresh and pure.” He continued with a small smile, going onto the next page.

“The snake was soon surrounded by the water, until it was fully submerged in it just likes its children. The snake had no fear of drowning, knowing that the water it loved would never harm it. The snake soon decided to stay with the water, happily surrounding itself with it’s cool saltiness, memories of its dessert long forgotten as the snake made his home in the sea, curling up in the deepest pit it could find, allowing itself to rest contently eternally.” Logan finished telling the story, a small smile on his face.

“Would you like to hear another?” He asked as he turned to look down at Virgil, only to pause when he saw his relaxed and sleeping face tucked against his chest.

Logan smiled fondly and closed the book, before setting it on the bedside table.

He carefully moved and lowered Virgil down so that he was laying on the mattress instead of on Logan, before quietly slipping out of bed.

He silently went around the room, tidying up a bit before turning out the lights and returning to his bed, slipping under the covers next to Virgil and snuggling up to him, wrapping his arms around his waist and pulling him against his chest, smiling fondly when Virgil hummed and cuddled closer to him in his sleep.

-

Logan hadn’t even realized he’d dozed off until he found himself slowly waking up to the sound of gentle sniffles next to him.

It was dark, with only the pale light of the moon poking in between the curtains and spilling out across the floor and his bed.

He blinked slowly, and looked down to see a sniffling Virgil, with a few tears running down his cheeks. He quickly shifted back and slowly cupped Virgil’s chin, tilting his head up to look at him.

“What’s wrong, does something hurt?” He asked softly.

Virgil shook his head, “no,” he said, his voice sounding slightly raw and Logan wondered how long he’d been crying for. “It’s just- just- snakes.” He managed to stutter out with a small sob, pressing his face into Logan’s palm with a whine.

Logan mentally cursed himself. What had he been thinking? Telling Virgil a story about snakes? A large wave of guilt began to bubble up inside of him.

“I’m sorry Virgil,” Logan began softly, “I did not intend for the story to bring up any memories.” He said.

Virgil shook his head again, “no it’s not your fault, I’m just stupid and can’t handle a fictional story.” He muttered.

“No you are not stupid.” Logan said sternly, “you cannot control what does and does not upset you, and just because you are upset about something does not make you stupid.” He said. “Do not make me go wake Patton.”

“He’ll physically fight me.” Virgil muttered, giving Logan a small watery smile.

“I’m sure he will.” Logan said as he gently rubbed Virgil’s cheekbone with his thumb.

Virgil hummed softly and leaned into the touch, before carefully wiping away the tear stains on his cheeks with a small sniff. “Will you tell me a different story?” Virgil asked, “just make it up, it can be about anything.” He added.

Logan smiled and pressed a gentle kiss to The top of Virgil’s head, “yes I can.” Logan said.

“Once there was a small creature, no bigger than your smallest toe.” He began, “it lived somewhere deep in the woods, where the sun never touched and the stars never shined, but where the plants thrived in darkness.”

“The small creatures skin was plush and delicate, so it stayed there where it could hide from the many terrors of the outside world. It had seven pairs of thin legs as pale as a spiders silk, and two antenna to match. It patrolled its safe heaven everyday and every night, never knowing when it could rest in fear of being found and over taken by creatures bigger than itself.” He continued, moving his hand down to gently rub Virgil’s back as he snuggled closer to Logan’s chest.

“One day it rained. It rained so hard that the plants have way above it and broke apart the walls of the small creatures world. When the rains ended the sun broke through, and the creature had to run and hide since the sun burned its frail skin, hiding in the shadows.”

“It’s safe heaven was soon overtaken by other wildlife that flocked the new area, and the poor creature was forced to go into hiding or else it would surely be found and killed.” Logan continued, smiling as he noticed Virgil breathing slowly evening out.

“But not all the creatures who came were bad. Some of them even took pity on the small creature.”

“There were ants, who showed it out to travel almost entirely unseen, and spiders who taught it how to climb, and snails who taught it how to make a shell perfect for itself, and caterpillars who showed it how to curl up and hide.” Logan continued. He knew Virgil was asleep now, but continued to tell his story anyways, just to be safe.

“The small creature learned everything it could from these other creatures, and soon found itself able to survive in the world that had seemed so big and bright on that first day, but now seemed warm and exciting, with a new adventure around every corner.”

“Eventually the king of the forest found the small creature, a fairy king who had never seen such a thing before.” He said, pausing to press a gentle kiss to to top of Virgil’s head, holding him closer.”

“The king was no bigger than the size of your hand, so the small creature seemed more like the size of a cat or small dog to him. It had seven pairs of thin pale legs the color of pale spiders silk, and two antenna to match. It had a thick dark grey shell with ridges that covered its who body, and it was able to curl up into a small ball, it’s shell protecting it like a sturdy armor with no cracks to allow anything inside.”

“ ‘Why hello little one,’ the king began as he knelt down next to the curled up creature, gently letting its shell, ‘aren’t you special.’ He continued.” Logan said, his voice turning gentle curious as he spoke for the king.

“The creature slowly uncurled itself and looked up at the king before bowing in respect, but rose when the king told him that wasn’t necessary.”

“ ‘I have never seen a creature like you before,’ the king began, ‘so small and quite, with such a sturdy shell.’ He continued, ‘what is your name’ he asked.”

“And the small creature responded with ‘I do not have a name my king’ it said, ‘I have never been known to have one.’ ” He said, making a soft and shy voice for the creature.

“ ‘Well that won’t do,’ the king said, ‘I will give you a name, since a creature such as yourself surely deserves one.’ He said.” Logan said, switching back to the king’s voice.

“The creature thanked him, and waited three days and three nights for the king to create his name. During that time the king observed what the creature did. How it survived, how it moved, taking everything into consideration before one again kneeling before the small creature.”

“ ‘I have found your name.’ The king said, smiling as the creature looked up at him in excitement.  
‘What is it my king, what am I?’ It asked, wanting to know what it was.”

“ ‘You, my little friend, are a woodlice.’ The king said, ‘but you are special, so I will give you a second name, a personal name.’ ” Logan yawned softly, but continued anyways.

“ ‘A second name? Oh no, you have already given me so much by telling me what I am, I do not need a personal name.’ “

“ But the king wouldn’t hear it,” Logan contained, “and gave the woodlice it’s own personal name.”

“ ‘You, my small friend,’ the king began, ‘are a Roly Poly.’ ” Logan said with a small smile, finishing his story.

He looked down at Virgil, who was peacefully slumbering against Logan’s chest, with no sign of distress in his face or his breath.

Logan yawned again and curled up a bit as he closed his eyes, quickly falling asleep as well as he held Virgil closer.

Neither of the woke until later that morning, able to spend the rest of the night in blissful sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh gosh was that horrid.
> 
> Those two stories were so freaking cringy I hate what I’ve made. I should have just looked up actual stories instead of making those, ahhhhh.
> 
> And again, over 7000 words!!!
> 
> Anywho, I hope yalls liked it even though it was cringy, the next chapter should be out soon!!
> 
> And I’m still taking requests, so don’t be afraid to comment bellow or PM me!!!
> 
> Bye!!!


	52. Chapter 39

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Could Logan have the idea of becoming Virgil's assistant or secretary to have more time together and/or Roman becomes Virgil's personal guard (and maybe Patton can find some way to also append more time with Virgil)
> 
> Here I am,  
Trying to get back to posting normally.  
But can I?  
No.  
Why?  
Who even knows.  
Anywho,   
Heyo, yalls ready for some fluff and such? I hope so, 'cause here we go!  
I hope yalls enjoy!!

Logan hummed thoughtfully as he gently ran his fingers through Romans hair. The two of them were sitting in Romans room, curled together on the bed while Logan looked over a few papers, with Roman practically laying on top of him with his  
head tucked against Logan's chest.

Roman had been unusually quiet and still for almost thirty minutes, so Logan assumed he was asleep, but then he shifted and tilted his head up to look at him with a pair of tired eyes.

"What's up?" He asked softly, his eyes drooping sleepily.

"Oh, it's nothing," Logan said reassuringly as he gently massaged Romans scalp, earning a soft and sleepy hum, "I just found something quite interesting in these papers," he continued before moving to set them down on the bedside table, "I'll tell you about it later." He added as he shifted and held Roman closer, gently cupping his cheek. "For now I am rather interested in a short nap." He said, smiling fondly as Roman leaned into the touch. "Would you like to join me?"

Roman scoffed slightly before burying his face against Logan's neck, "like you need to ask." He said, pressing a kiss to Logan's collarbone before allowing himself to be moved by Logan until they were both laying comfortable. It had been a rather busy day for not only them, but their other partners as well, so a short mid-day nap would do them good.

-

Logan walked up to the solid oak wood door, the sound of his shoes clacking on the hard floor echoed through the empty hall, sounding much louder to Logan.

He straightened out the small stack of papers in his hands, and nodded at the two guards before knocking on the door. He had asked for this meeting, so technically he wasn't required to knock, but he still wished to be polite.

"Come in." A voice called from inside the room.

Logan straightened out his clothes a bit before carefully opening the door and stepping inside.

The king and queen sat inside, seated at a table that could hold at least four more people near the window. The wood was dark, almost black, and went well with the pale blue walls of the room and the rest of the dark colored furniture and the white flowers that were placed in vases around the room.

"Logan, on time as usual," The king said with a smile, "Come, have a seat." He said, gesturing to the table.

Logan nodded, and thanked him before stepping father into the room and picking a seat where he could face and talk to both of them without have to shift awkwardly.

"So, What is it you wanted to talk about?" The queen asked, "and would you like any tea?" She added.

Logan gave her a polite smile and shook his head, "no tea please, thank you." He said, "and I'd like to discuss a few things I've found rather interesting in a few papers I found a few nights ago." He said, setting his small stack of papers on the table.

"What is it?" The king asked before taking a bite of what looked to be a cherry or strawberry scone.

"Well I've noticed that Virgil has been taking more and more important duties around and outside the castle," Logan began, "with things like taking care of small disputes in the market system, and handling small audiences that he has the ability to help with," he continued.

"Yes that is true," the queen said, "we're not giving him too much are we?" She asked with a small frown.

"No I do not believe so," Logan reassured, "he does not seem to be stressed about the amount of work." He said, "but I have noticed him having trouble trying to decide on what to do on his own," he continued, "so I decided to do a little research and found a few things I think might help." He said, before sliding the papers over to the pair.

The two leaned over and began to look through the papers carefully, the king even putting on his reading glasses as he squinted at the sheets.

"You want to find him a personal advisor?" The queen began as she looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"In a way," Logan said as he looked at the porcelain tea pot and the plate of cookies and scones on the table, not looking at either of them, "I was curious if anyone could learn to be his advisor."

"Who did you have in mind?" The king asked, although he had a knowing smile on his face -not that Logan could see it, since he still wouldn't look at the two.

Logan shifted slightly, "I was wondering if, perhaps, I could be his personal advisor." He said, "I am more than willing to learn everything and anything I'll need to in order to be the best for him." He said.

"How can we know this isn't just a ploy to to have more time with him since he's been busy, instead of actually wanting to help him." The queen asked in a slightly suspicious tone, although Logan didn't think she was actually that worried.

Logan finally looked up at the two of them, his face calm and serious yet soft.

"I can assure you that I can be professional and can set my feelings aside in order to help him in anyway necessary," he say "yes it would be lovely to spend more time with him, and I am sure that will be a bi-product of this if I do become his personal advisor, but I would not let our feelings cloud my, or his, judgment." He said.

He watched as the two looked at each other and seemed to have a silent conversation for almost a minute, before they turned back to him.

"You also included some papers discussing personal guards," the queen said, "do you think he needs more protection?" She asked.

"Ah," Logan began with a small nod, "it is not that I think he needs more protection, but that I think he needs more protection that he trusts." He said.

"So you're saying our current guards aren't trustworthy?"

"No, not that at all," Logan reassured, "its just that I've noticed Virgil seems, well, awkward around his own guards, and I know that he tries to sneak away from them on occasion, which I can assume the two of you don't like." He said, watching as the two nodded before continuing. "So I thought that if someone he likes or trusts were to become his personal guard, then maybe the two of you and him would be more comfortable." He said.

"Are you proposing that you train to be his guard and his personal advisor?" The king asked.

"Not quite, no," Logan said, "I'm suggesting that Roman and Patton train to become guards." He said. "I know the two care about him, if that wasn't obvious, and I know that he trusts them," he continued, "and if the two were to be trained just like any other guards then I'm sure the two of you would be more comfortable with him being out and about knowing that he'll be protected even if he sneaks away from his usual guards."

"I'm sure he'd be more comfortable with them as his guards, and I'm sure you'd be more comfortable knowing that they'd do everything to keep him safe since anything done against him would be personal to the two for them." He added.

"Well, we can't just not have any guards with him," the queen said after a beat of silence, "if he only has the two of them then he isn't protected well enough."

"I'm not saying to only have them as his guards," Logan assured, "It is still a good idea to have normal guards assigned to him," he continued, "it is just an idea to make everyone a bit more comfortable and trusting."

The two paused and glanced at each other for a few seconds.

"We'll have to think about it and discuss it with one another," the king finally said, "and we'll need to speak with Virgil, Roman, and Patton as well on the matter before making any decision." He added.

Logan nodded, "as I would expect from his parents," he said, "I also need to discuss it with the three of them." He said.

"Then we'll let you go now," The king said with a smile, "we'll contact you in a bit about times we can talk again." He added.

Logan nodded and stood up, "Alright," he said, "have a nice day." He added with a small nod before walking out of the room.

-

"Logan you sneaky nerd." Roman said as he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Logan's cheek, smiling when Logan blushed.

He, Roman, and Patton were all out in the garden, and were going to meet Virgil there soon when he was done with some of his lessons. Roman and Patton had been there for longer than Logan though, since Logan had had his talk with the king and queen.

"It has nothing to do with being sneaky, or with being a 'nerd'." Logan said with a small huff, even though he was also smiling a little.

"That's true, but still! This is such a good idea Lo!" Patton said with an excited grin. "Are we going to talk to Virgil about it?" He asked.

"Not until his parents either agree or disagree and talk to us first," Logan said as he shook his head.

"Oooh maybe we can surprise him!" Roman said as he tucked himself up against Logan's side.

"I'm not to sure if he'd enjoy us surprising him," Logan said as he gently moved his hand to run his fingers through Romans hair.

"Yeah, he might get anxious or upset or something." Patton said as he moved to lay across both of their laps, smiling and nuzzling against Logan's thigh as he threaded the fingers from his other hand into Pattons hair.

Roman pouted and tucked his head against Logan's shoulder as he gently rubbed Patton's back, "yeah, you're right," he said. "I suppose it might not be the best idea to keep something like this from him, especially since his parents are probably going to talk to him about it anyway."

"That's true," Patton said, "but it's still a good idea Lo," he said, "I bet you'd make a great personal advisor, and I'm sure Roman and I wouldn't be to bad as guards." He added.

Logan couldn't help smiling, "thank you Patton, and I'm sure your right." He said as he looked down at him as he massaged at his scalp, while leaning his head on top of Romans. He only looked up at the sound of footsteps, and smiled when he saw Virgil come around the edge of the bush.

-

“What is it you wanted to talk with me about?” Virgil asked as he looked at his parents sitting across from him.

They’d asked him to meet him there for tea and scones so they could talk with him about something, but didn’t say what it was they wanted to talk about. Apparently they’d been talking to Logan, Roman and Patton recently as well, but he didn’t know anything about that either, so he was a bit worried they’d done something wrong.

His mother took a sip of her tea. “Well, we’d like to discuss a few important things with you,” she said, “what are your opinions on a personal advisor?” She asked.

“A personal advisor?” Virgil asked, “I wouldn’t mind one I suppose, why do you ask?”

“Well, it’s been brought to our attention that you may have been having a big of trouble with some of the tasks we’ve assigned to you, so it was suggested that we find a personal advisor for you,” His mother said as his father nodded along, “it was your boyfriend, Logan, who brought this up.”

“Logan?” Virgil parroted, tilting his head in confusion.

“Yes, he even suggested that he train and become your personal advisor,” his father said, “what are your thoughts about that? Do you think he’d do any good.”

Virgil blushed a small bit, “I think he’d be a good advisor, he’s smart and is good at explaining things to me.” He said.

His mother hummed thoughtfully, “and what about Patton and Roman, do you think they’d be good protection if we were to, perhaps, give them guard training?”

“Well, they’re already pretty protective I suppose, guard training would just give hem more confidence and such,” Virgil said with a shrug, “why do you ask? What’s happening?”

“Your boyfriends asked us if they could officially train and become your personal advisor and your personal guards, so that even if you sneak away from your actual guards, you’ll still be protected and safe.” His mother said as she took another sip of tea, “your father and I have discussed it with each other and with all of them individually, and we are inclined to agree with the idea, of you are comfortable with it.”

Virgil blinked at her for a second, before quickly nodding, “U-um yeah, I’d be okay with that,” he stuttered slightly with a small smile.

His parents smiled back at him, “that’s good,” His mother said, “but you will still be assigned your regular guards, just so you know.” She said.

Virgil nodded again, “okay.” he said.

“I’m sure you’d like to go talk with them about this, since I don’t think they’ve mentioned it to you yet.” His father said with a smile.

“No they haven’t,” Virgil said as he stood up, “and I will go speak with them.” He added.

“We’ll see you at dinner,” His mother said with a smile and a small wave, “tell them they’ll start their training tomorrow, and that their schedules will be delivered tonight.”

“I will,” Virgil said with a smile, before leaving the room with a small wave.

He found the other three all in Logan’s room, chatting as they shared a plate of cookies Patton had probably made.

“Oh, hi Virgil.” Patton said with a smile.

Virgil smiled back as he closed the door and leaned against the wall. “Hello,” He said, “What’s this about becoming my advisor and guards?” He asked.

He watched as all three of them blushed and sheepishly smiled.

“Well,” Logan began as he gestured for Virgil to come sit with them, “I may have thought of the idea while I was looking through some documents I found in the royal library,” he said. “We didn’t bring it up to you cause we wanted to talk with your parents first and see if it was even a possibility.”

“Well,” Virgil began as he moved to sit on the bed with them, “I would have liked it if you had come talked to me about it,” he said, “but I can see why you didn’t and I’m not upset.” He said. “Although you did have my kind of worried when you went to talk with my parents and didn’t tell me why.” He added.

“Sorry.” Roman said with an apologetic smile.

“It’s okay,” Virgil said, “and I’m fine with the idea of you guys doing this if you really want to,” He added, “but don’t feel like you need to.”

“We know we don’t need to,” Roman said as he moved over and laid his head in Virgil’s lap, smiling when he threaded his fingers through his hair.

“We want to so that we can protect you and each other and help you.” Patton said, “and it’d be nice to go with you when you need to leave for meetings.” He added with a grin.

“I’d appreciate the company.” Virgil said as he returned the smile, “but you won’t be able to come with me on those until your fully trained, so you’ll still have to wait here for some of those.” He added.

“We know, but we are willing to wait and do the training properly.” Logan said as he leaned over and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“Good,” Virgil said, “Cause I don’t think my parents would let you if you didn’t.”

“No they probably wouldn’t.”

The four of them spent the next hour discussing everything and cuddling before Virgil had to go to his lessons again, although he agreed to meet them in Romans room after dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And ta-da. Sorry for the wait I’ve been a bit busy lately, but don’t worry, I’ve started the next few chapters already so they should be out soon.  
On a completely different note I’ve publish a new story that I quite enjoy, which will probably be part of the reason updates for this fic will slow down. It is fanfiction, and is called Of Love And Mysteries, but you don’t need to have watched the show to read it.   
If you wanna check it out feel free, but you don’t need to,   
I just wanted to explain why updated are gunna be a bit slower.
> 
> So yeah, there’s that  
Hopefully yalls like this chapter!!  
Feel free to comment! And I’m mstill taking requests!!
> 
> Bye!!


	53. Chapter 40

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Pillow fight with Pat and Virgil being cute
> 
> Heyo  
This chapter might be short, it might not be, who knows, I haven't finished writing it yet and I don't know yalls definition of a "long" chapter verses a "short" chapter.  
Anywho, I hope yalls like it!   
It's gunna be cringy as heck though

Virgil leaned back against the headboard of Logan's bed, gently carding his fingers through Logan's hair as the taller male leaned against his chest. It had been a busy week for everyone, Virgil with his lessons, Roman and Patton with their new guard training, and Logan with his own new studies and lessons as well, so they were all pretty tired and ready to just cuddle and be with each other that night.

Patton and Roman were also in bed with them, the latter humming as Patton massaged his back to help with his sore muscles.

"You're really good at that." Roman mumbled as he turned his head to look back at Patton from where it had previously need buried in a pillow.

"Awe, thanks," Patton said with a bright smile. "I'm glad you think so." He added, before digging his thumbs into a particularly tender spot, earning a soft groan from Roman.

"Maybe next time you'll remember that you need to stretch first." Virgil said, smirking over at Roman as he massaged Logan's scalp.

"Oh I remembered to stretch first." Roman said as he tilted his head up to wiggle his eyebrows and wink at him.

Virgil face flushed bright red and he quickly snatched up one of the pillows, before throwing it in Romans face. "I hate you." He muttered.

Roman couldn't help laughing as he threw the pillow back at him, hitting him square in the face. "You know you love me."

Virgil huffed and threw the pillow back at him. "Do I though?" He asked with a small smirk.

"Yes, yes you do," Roman said, "otherwise I think our relationship would get a bit awkward if you were faking it." He added as he threw the pillow back at him, but accidentally hit Logan instead.

They paused and looked at Logan, who carefully sat up as adjusted his glasses.

"I hope you know that was meant for Virgil." Roman said.

"Yes I know that Roman," Logan said as he picked the pillow up. "But that fact will not help you." He added with a small smirk.

"Wait wha-" Roman was cut off by Logan throwing the pillow back at him, hitting him in the face.

"Logan it was an accident." Roman whined as he threw the pillow back at the two of them, but Virgil caught it instead of getting hit.

"There are no accidents." Logan said as he snatched up a different pillow and threw it back at Roman, while Virgil threw his at Patton, who purposefully fell over with an exaggerated oof when he was hit, earning a laugh from Virgil.

Virgil and Logan teamed up from then on, while Patton and Roman did the same, and Roman eventually took things off of the bed and into the rest of the room, luring Logan after him with several pillows tucked under his arms as ammo.

Virgil threw another pillow at Patton, who managed to catch it and throw it back. He smirked at Patton, who beamed back at him, although his grin was quickly hidden when Virgil threw the pillow back at his face, managing to hit him this time.

He took his chance and quickly lunged forwards, pinning Patton down onto the mattress. He straddled Patton's hips, a knee on either side of his waist, and smiled down at him when Patton shoved the pillow away.

"This seems unfair," Patton said as he looked up at him.

"All is fair in love and war." Virgil said with a shrug, before moving his hands down to Patton's ribs.

"Don't you dare mister," Patton said as he gave him a small glare, but it didn't have any heat to it.

Virgil just laughed softly and began to tickle him, digging the tips of his fingers into his ribs.

Patton squealed softly and quickly covered his mouth to stifle his laugh as Virgil tickled him. He tried to and squirm away, but Virgil wasn't having it. His fingers skittered across Patton's sides and up to his neck, always finding a new spot to tickle whenever Patton managed to wiggle away from the spot he'd been attacking before.

Patton began to try to push Virgil's hands away as he laughed, not bothering to stifle his giggles anymore and focusing on getting Virgil to stop.

He eventually managed to get a hold of Virgil's hands and pulled them away from his sensitive sides and other ticklish place, moving them to sit on either side of Patton's head, still tightly held in his own hands.

"Now that's enough of that," Patton said, still smiling as he panted softly, his cheeks red from all the smiling and laughing.

"I suppose it is." Virgil said with a small laugh as he looked down at him. "Would you prefer a kiss instead?" He asked.

"I would very much so prefer a kiss." Patton said as he squeezed Virgil's hands.

Virgil smiled and leaned down, gently capturing his lips in a slow and sweet kiss as he squeezed his hands in return.

Patton hummed softly and closed his eyes as he kissed him back, relaxing into the mattress.

"Well isn't this sweet." Roman said from somewhere next to the bed, him and Logan having noticed that their pillow fight was over.

Virgil slowly pulled away from the kiss and sat up as he looked over at Roman. "I won." He said with a smile.

"Excuse you mister, you didn't win," Patton said as he looked up at Virgil, "you cheated." He huffed.

"It wasn't cheating," Virgil said, "I was going at it from a different angle."

"Cheating." Patton said with a pout as he childishly turned his head away with a small hmph.

"Would more kisses make it better?" Virgil asked as he cupped Patton's cheek and turned his head back to face him.

"It's gunna take a lot of kisses to make up for such a high level of treachery," Patton said, "I don't know if your up for the task."

"I'll do any task for you." Virgil said with a smile as he gently rubbed Patton's cheekbone with his thumb.

He watched as Patton's face turned a bright scarlet. "Y-you're too sweet," he hummed shyly.  
"But, if that's the case then you'd better get started on those kisses mister." He added.

"Will do." Virgil said before leaning down and pressing a kiss to Patton's cheek, and then another one to his jaw, and then another to the spot just bellow his ear. He began to pepper his face and neck with sweet kisses, earning a smile and a few small giggles from Patton.

"Virgil I need you to betray me." Roman said from where he was now leaning against the bed with his elbows propped up on the mattress and his knees on the floor.

"And why is that?" Virgil asked in between kisses.

"Cause I wanna get smothered in kisses." He said with a pout.

"Are my kisses not as good as Virgil's?" Logan said with a raised brow.

"Oh no specs your kisses are amazing," Roman said as he turned to look at him, still having his elbows propped onto the bed, but now he was leaning back against it as he faced Logan, "are you offering?" He asked.

"Perhaps," Logan said, "would I have to betray you first?"

"It's not a requirement." Roman said with a small smirk as he moved to sit criss-cross.

"Then I believe I'll be able to work something out." Logan said with a smile as he moved sit in Romans lap, his knees on the floor on either side of Romans hips.

Roman smiled and wrapped his arms around Logan’s waist, but didn’t pull him closer as Logan cupped his jaw in both hands and pulled him into a gentle kiss.

Patton tore his gaze away from his kissing boyfriends, and looked back to Virgil“I think that’s enough kisses now,” he said with a smile, his face flushed.

“You sure? Cause I can still give you more.” Virgil said as he pressed a kiss to the pulse point on Patton’s neck.

Patton hummed softly but gently nudged him back, “I’m sure,” he said, “your debt has been fulfilled and I am no longer betrayed.”

Virgil laughed softly and nodded, “Alright pat.” He said as he got up off of him and let him sit up.

He glanced over and saw Logan peppering Roman with kisses like he had done to Patton, although his lasted longer and he left little pink marks on the kisses he placed on Romans neck, making a constellation of light hickies across his skin.

“You know the bed might be a bit more comfortable than the floor.” He said as he moved to lean against the headboard, Patton cuddling up against his side meremoments later.

“That may be true but I personally don’t want to get up right now.” Logan said after pulling away from Romans neck for a second.

“I think I can help with that.” Roman said as he tightened his hold around Logan’s waist and maneuvered himself into his knees while Logan quickly wrapped his arms and legs around him.

“If you drop me you don’t get any more kisses or cuddles.” Logan said as he clung to him tighter while Roman carefully stood up.

“It’s a good thing I’m not dropping you then.” Roman said as he carried Logan abound the bed.

He carefully sat down and moved to be next to Virgil, keeping Logan in his lap.

“And tada, we are now on the comfy bed.” He said as he pressed a kiss to Logan’s cheek.

“Indeed we are.” Logan said with a small yawn, before moving to continue kissing Romans neck.

Patton snuggled closer to Virgil, halfway in his lap as he wrapped his arms around him.

“You know, I take it back,” he said softly, “I don’t think you’ve fulfilled your debt yet.”

“Is this you asking for more kisses?” Virgil asked.

“No, this is me asking for revenge.” Patton said with an impish grin.

“Revenge?” Virgil asked slowly.

“Yup,” Patton all but chirped, before moving his hands to Virgil’s sides and digging his fingers into Virgil’s ribs.

Virgil gasped softly and squealed before trying to wiggle away while also trying to cover his sides with his arms, but Patton still managed to continue tickling him, drawing out a string and small giggles that bubbled up in Virgil’s throat as he squirmed.

“Awe, your laugh is always so cute,” Patton cooed as he moved one of his hands to tickle around Virgil’s neck, “and your face is flushed suck a pretty pink, don’t you think so guys?”

Roman hummed in agreement, “very pretty,” he said, as he gently carded his fingers through Logan’s hair, “but I think he’s getting a bit tired.” He added.

Virgil was gasping between his laughs and giggles, and wasn’t even wiggling around anymore, just taking it with only a few twitches.

“Awe are you tired? Ready for bed?” Patton asked softly as he pulled his hands away and moved to cup Virgil’s cheeks in his palms.

Virgil panted softly as he nodded, before leaning into Patton’s touch with a small hum, a smile still covering his face.

“So cute.” patton said with a coo as he pressed a kiss to Virgil’s forehead, before moving away and getting out of the bed to turn the lights off.

“Not as cute as you.” Virgil countered as he moved to snuggle into Romans side.

“I don’t know about that,” Patton said as he moved back to the bed, taking his glasses off and setting them on the bedside table. “You’re pretty cute.”

“You’re both adorable,” Roman said, “now snuggle and try not to wake specs up, he’s already conked out.” He said, his voice gentle as he pressed a kiss to a slumbering Logan’s temple.

Patton smiled and went around the bed to take off Logan’s glasses, setting them next to his own, before climbing into bed and snuggling up to Virgil as they all shifted into more comfortable positions and pulled the blankets over them.

Patton traced invisible patterns across Virgil’s skin as he waited for the comforting tug of sleep that had claimed Roman in addition to Logan not that long ago.

Virgil turned over so that he was facing Patton now, a small sleepy smile on his face.

“Am I forgiven now?” He asked teasingly, his voice barely louder than a whisper.

Patton smiled and chuckled softly, “of course you are silly.” He said.

Virgil hummed softly and nodded before he leaned forwards and pressed a kiss to Patton’s forehead. “Let’s get some sleep.” He said, wrapping his arms around Patton waist and pulling him close, tucking his head against his chest and under his chin.

Patton smiled and snuggled closer, sleep quickly over taking him as he soaked up Virgil’s warmth and listened to his gentle breathing and heartbeat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And tada, have another chapter.  
This was very cringy and I have many regrets but I’m too tired to care right now so bleh.  
The next chapter will be out soon, I’ve already started writing it.  
Hopefully yalls like this chapter!
> 
> And feel free to comment or pm me your thoughts or a request for this!!
> 
> Bye!!


	54. Chapter 41

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: 'Aaron's love life' 
> 
> Heyo
> 
> Sorry again for not positing in forever, I swear I’m trying.
> 
> Here's a chapter that'll be focusing mostly on Aaron!!!  
Also, just a note -Aaron still doesn't know that Virgil is dating Roman, Logan and Patton yet
> 
> I hope you like the chapter!!

Aaron paced back and forth as he read over the letter Virgil had sent him in response to the one he'd sent a few days ago. He'd sent the other prince a letter telling him -or more so gushing to him- about this one guy that had worked at the palace for several years for trade and delivery. 

He had smooth olive skin with warm honey undertones that absolutely glowed in the sun and a dark brown mole the size of a pea beneath his left ear on his jaw, and had dark hazel colored eyes in a thin almond shape. He was about the same height as Aaron if not slightly taller, and had thin black hair that he kept up in a high bun most of the time, but went to his shoulder blades when let down. His name was Kai and they'd technically know each other for almost five years.

At one point Kai had apparently learned about Aaron's personal garden and began to bring him different plants from all the places he went to for their trade system. At first they were just plants that didn't seem to hold any implied meaning, but then he began to bring plants that began to have something in common.

Blue violets.  
Jasmine.  
White dittany.  
Peonies.  
Orchids.  
White carnations.

Aaron had taken the time to learn as much about plants as he could, and that included flower symbolisms. These weren't the only plants that Kai brought him, but these are the ones that stuck out to Aaron the most in the sense of symbolism. Each had his face flushed a few shades darker than it usually was when Kai brought him plants. Yet Kai never seemed nervous when giving him the plants, which made Aaron think he didn't know their symbolism and it was all a coincidence.

But then Kai also began try and spend more time with him, walking around the kingdom together, sitting in the garden together, even leading him into parts of the forest where he had somehow managed to find unique or unusual plants to show Aaron. He even wrote letters when he was away on trade business.

Aaron was embarrassed to admit it, but he had fallen head over heels for this guy. So, when the anxiety about his feelings finally began to become to much, he decided to write a letter to Virgil, explaining everything and anxiously asking what he should do.

And now Virgil had sent a letter back, which Aaron had all but tore open when he got back to his room.

Dear Aaron,

He sounds like a nice guy, and seems like he may like you back.  
Maybe you could try giving him a bouquet of flowers like the ones he sent you? Perhaps he does know their meaning and will understand that you feel the same?  
If not then I'd say to either tell him next time he's there, or send him a letter explaining your feelings so that you don't need to tell him in person.  
Logan says that may not be a wise decision, since he could just never answer and you'd be in the dark about it.  
Patton thinks you should tell him in person and hope for the best.  
And Roman thinks you should do something showy, but that's Roman and we don't need to listen to him now do we?

Anyways, this probably didn't help much, but I hope everything goes well for you, tell me if it goes well, and if it doesn't you can come visit me and I can attempt at making you feel better even though Patton's better at it than me.

From your friend, Virgil.

Aaron sighed softly and set the letter down on his desk. It was kinda helpful, and he appreciated it, but it didn't do much to rid him of his anxieties.

He could send the letter, since Kai was away right now and he didn't know when he'd be back, so he wouldn't have to deal with the anxiety of saying it to his face, but he had no clue what to write.

He eventually decided to think about it a bit more before doing anything, he had time since Kai shouldn’t be back for at least a week.

-

Kai wasn’t supposed to be back yet.

It had been a few days since he’d gotten the letter from Virgil, and since then he’d drafted up several letters to Kai, but always ended up crumpling them and starting a new one. He never found the right words, or he sounded too cringy, and he’d ramble, and it just didn’t feel right.

Kai shouldn’t have been back yet, so when Aaron was sitting in his garden, he didn’t expect anyone to be joining him.

“Fancy meeting you here, your highness.” 

Aaron jumped with a small squeak, and almost dropped his watering can in surprise before whirling around.

“Kai?” He said in both shock and confusion, “you’re back already?”

“Well, Yes.” Kai said his smirk turning into a confused smile. “Would you rather I leave? Did I come at a bad time?”

“Oh! No no, I didn’t mean it like that,” Aaron rushed to say, his cheeks turning red, “I-I was just surprised cause you weren’t due back for at least a few more days.”

“Well I wanted to surprise you,” kai said with a shrug as he walked closer to Aaron, “I got you a gift.”

“Y-you got me a gift?” Aaron said as his cheeks managed to turn an even darker shade of red, “you didn’t need to get me anything.” He added, now noticing the fact that Aaron’s hands had been behind his back the whole time.

“I know, but I wanted to,” Kai said with a kind smile that made Aaron’s heart flutter, “close your eyes, and don’t open until I tell you.” He said.

This is what Kai always did when he brought Aaron something from his trips. He had him close his eyes and wait till Kai had brought the gift out to let him open his eyes.

Aaron did as he was told, closing his eyes as he waited for Kai to tell him to open them. He felt like he could barely breath, and he was sure that Kai could hear the hammering of his heart.

“Okay, you can open.” Kai said.

Aaron hesitated slightly, before opening his eyes.

He immediately saw the beautiful dark red flowers with thick frilly petals on pale green stems. It was a small pot, smaller than the last one Kai had gotten him, but it still made him turn a bright cherry pink.

Dark red carnations.   
Deep love and affection.

“They’re so pretty,” He said softly as he carefully took the pot when Kai offered it to him.

“Really? I know I already got you a pot of white carnations before, so I hope it’s not repetitive.” He said with a smile.

White carnations.  
Pure love and good luck.

“No I think it’s sweet,” he said with a smile as he looked down at the small pot of flowers.

“I almost got you some lighter red ones, but the florist said these would be better.” Kai said, and Aaron couldn’t tell if he sounded sheepish or not.

Light red carnations.  
Admiration.

“I would have liked anything you brought me,” Aaron said, “you could have brought me dandelions and I would still love them.”

“Really?” Kai said, “That’s very sweet of you.”

Aaron smiled and lead him to a portion of his garden where he kept the flowers Kai brought him, setting the new pot next to his white carnations. He actually set it up in the garden bed later.

“They all look so healthy,” Kai said, “you do a good job at keeping them alive.”

Blue violets.  
Faith, affection, intuition, love.

“Well it’d be a bit difficult to have a garden as big as this one if I couldn’t keep it alive.” Aaron said as he watered a few of his flowers.

Orchids.  
love, luxury, beauty, strength.

“Still, I can barely keep the plants alive long enough to bring them back to you,” Kai said, “so I’m still impressed.”

White dittany.  
Love and passion.

“You flatter me,” Aaron said with a sheepish smile as he turned his face to try and hide his blush.

Peonies.  
Romance, prosperity, good fortune.

“I only speak the truth,” Kai said with a smile and he looked at one of the flowers, gently lifting its head with the tips of his fingers.

Jasmine.  
Love, beauty, sensuality.

“Doesn’t make it any less flattering,” Aaron said as he gently set his watering can down.

“I suppose that’s true,” Kai said.

There was a beat of silence.

“I um, I actually have something for you as well.” Aaron said softly. Wait, what was he saying?

“Oh really?” Kai asked with a smile, “and what might it be?”

“A-a surprise.” Aaron said, “wait here with your back turned and I’ll go grab it.”

Kai laughed softly, “Alright,” he said, “you won’t make me wait long though will you?” He asked playfully.

“No, I won’t be gone for long.” Aaron said, before quickly rushing to a different part of his garden before Kai could say anything else.

Why did he say that? He didn’t have a gift for him planned. He needed to find something.

He quickly began looking through his plants and flowers, trying to find the right one.

Purple irises symbolize royalty and wisdom. Yellow irises symbolize passion. Blue irises symbolize faith and hope. White irises symbolize purity. No, none of those were right, they were too vague.

Red chrysanthemums, symbolize love and deep passion.  
Maybe, red Chrysanthemums might just work...

Mallow, symbolizes love, protection and health.  
Mallow could also work, not as straight forward as chrysanthemums, but not vague.

Tuberose, symbolic of wild pleasures or primordial passion, because of its somewhat seductive fragrance.  
No he didn’t want to seem too desperate or needy, and this flower was a bit much for a first gift. Maybe later though, if things go well...

White and orange jonquil, symbolizing desire, sympathy, the desire for the return of affection.  
Hmm, that one sounded good, and the flowers were cute as well.

He quickly went to get a small pot, and transferred some of the flowers from their bed into it, making it look as nice as he could before hesitantly walking back to where he’d left Kai.

Wait. What if Kai didn’t know what they meant? Should he make a note and write it out? Yeah, yeah he should do that.

He set the pot down on a small table that was covered in other potted plants, and quickly went to write a note, thankful that he had paper and such stored in a small cupboard in the garden.

He quickly wrote out the meaning of the flower, folded it, and tucked it into the soil on the back of the pot, half of it poking out and painfully visible.

He finally went back to where Kai was, his back facing him.

He bit his lip as he stood behind him, the pot in his hands. Was this a good idea  
No, he couldn’t back out now...

“You can turn around.” He said softly.

Kai waited only a second before turning around, a curious expression on his face. Then he smiled.

“What kind of flower is it? It looks like a daffodil.” He said as he gently reached forward and tilted one of the flower head up to look at.

“I-its jonquil.” Aaron said with a small blush.

“It’s very pretty,” Kai said, before he seemed to notice the note tucked into the back of the pot.

He plucked it out of the soil, and sent Aaron a curious look before opening it.

Aaron watched as he read the note, a storm of anxiety and apprehension swirling up inside of him.

“Do you...,” Kai slowly began, “Do you know what the flowers I brought you mean?” He asked softly as he looked up at him.

Aaron slowly nodded, his cheeks turning a darker red.

“Oh, okay,” Kai seemed to relax, “I though for a bit when you didn’t comment on it that you didn’t know.” He said as a smile worked it’s way onto his face.

“Wait, so you knew what they meant?” He asked.

“Well, yeah.” Kai said, and the small blush on his cheeks surprised Aaron a little. “I asked the shop owners and they showed me what flowers meant what.” He said.

“And if you knew,” he continued, “Do these mean what I think they do?” He asked as he gestured to he jonquil.

Aaron bit his lip and shyly nodded. “Yeah...they do.” He said softly.

“Really? This ain’t some joke?”

“No I wouldn’t joke about this,” Aaron said as he looked at him.

A large smile broke out on kai’s face, and he looked like he was glowing. “Can, can I hug you?” He asked, and he seemed to barely be containing his excitement.

Aaron blushed and quickly set the flowers down as he nodded.

The moment the pot was out of his hands he found himself swept up in a large hug, Kai lifting him of the floor and spinning a little as he laughed. Aaron couldn’t help but laugh as well as he hugged him back, pressing his face into kai’s shoulder.

“Oh gosh you don’t know how long I’ve wanted to hug you.” Kai said softly as he set Aaron back on the ground, but didn’t let him go.

“You could have asked for a hug at any time.” Aaron said with a small laugh, feeling way more happy than he thought he would be.

“I know but this is different,” Kai said, “can I kiss your cheek? If that’s okay?”

Aaron nodded, “yes yes of course,” he said with a grin, “you can kiss me whenever and wherever.” He said, his heart fluttering.

“Can I kiss you? Like, kiss you kiss you?” Kai asked as he pulled back a bit to look at Aaron, keeping his arms still loosely looped around him.

“Y-yeah, yeah you can.” Aaron said, his cheeks plum red as he looked back at him.

Kai smiled, and moved one of his hands gently to cup Aaron’s cheek, before slowly pulling him into a short but sweet kiss.

Kai’s lips were slightly chapped, the kiss sent sparks of electricity coursing through him, every nerve tingling as he shyly kissed him back, closing his eyes as he tightened his hold on kai’s shoulders.

They pulled away after a few seconds, and Aaron couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled up and out of him as he hugged Kai again, pressing his face against his neck as he Kai hugged him back.

“You don’t know how anxious I’ve been about this,” he said softly, “I didn’t know if you knew what the flowers you were giving me meant, and I didn’t know if you’d feel the same as me.”

“I felt the same way,” Kai said as he gently carded his fingers through Aaron’s short locks, “I didn’t know if you knew what they meant, or if you not saying anything about it meant you didn’t feel the same.” He admitted.

“I would have said something,” Aaron said, “if I had known you knew what they meant I would have said something much sooner.”

“Me too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And ta-da.  
Another chapter!  
Hopefully yalls like it!  
The next one will be out soon! (Hopefully)
> 
> Feel free to comment anything or put in a request!!
> 
> Bye!!


	55. Chapter 42

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Sick Virgil (he's only ever been "sick" when he took the potion when he was a kid, so this is kinda like his first time actually being sick)
> 
> Yalls ready for cute worried fluff?? Cause I know I aaam  
There's actually another sick chapter coming up, that ones gunna be cute as well.  
Anywho, I hope yalls are ready!  
Warning: there will be puking in this.

Virgil sluggishly blinked his eyes open, wincing at the bright sunlight that shined in his face and made his head hurt, and groaned softly before burying his face into one of his pillows.

His skin was broiling and sensitive to the fabric of his blanket and sheets that suddenly felt too rough to sleep on.

He kicked away his blankets, and shivered slightly despite still feeling really warm.

Why was it so hot, it was the middle of autumn?

His warm skin felt sticky with sweat, and his limbs moved sluggishly when he pushed himself into sitting up, only to groan as his vision spun and he felt incredibly light headed.

He took a few shaky breaths as he waited for the bout of dizziness to lessen, letting out a shaky sigh when he managed to slide his eyes open again, not realizing he had closed them in the first place.

The sun still hurt his eyes and his head, so he gracelessly stumbled out of bed and closed the curtains, gripping the thick yet smooth fabric tightly as his head spun again.

He took a shaky deep breath before making his way across the room to his wardrobe, pulling out the softest and looses clothes he had, which were the black pants he trained in and a pale blue blouse-like shirt he'd stollen from Patton.

The fabric still scratched at his skin despite how soft it usually was, and he groaned softly at the idea of wearing shoes today. He could probably get away without them couldn't he? Yeah, yeah he could he didn't have anything important to do.

He ran his fingers through his hair before making his way out of his room and down the stairs, ignoring the slightly concerned glances his guards shared before they followed him, and maybe they walked closer than they usually did but Virgil didn't really care right now.

He barely made it to the stairs before someone was in front of him.

"Virgil you okay? I called your name but you didn't answer?"

Virgil couldn't tell who it was, his eyes slipping closed, but he decided to take a guess and hope he was right as he tried to force his eyes open.

"Oh, sorry Roman, I didn't hear you." He mumbled as he rubbed his face.

"...I'm patton," the person, apparently Patton, said, and Virgil could hear the frown in his voice. "Sweetie are you okay?" He asked.

Virgil didn't say anything, and a few seconds later felt a hand pressed to his forehead.

"Oh Virgil, you have a fever sweetheart." Patton said, "you shouldn't be out of bed right now."

"Hmmm 'm fine I have lesssons to doo..." he mumbled as he tried to wave Patton's hands away, but missed entirely.

"Can you go get Roman and Logan? They're in the dining room with Virgil's parents," he heard Patton said, "ands year call for a nurse? I'm going to take him back to his room."

"Nooo," Virgil whines softly, "pat I have stuff to do."

"And you can do that stuff later Virgil, right now you need to go back to bed." Patton said, before leading Virgil back the way he'd come.

"But pat-"

"No buts mister, you're getting back to bed and I will fight anyone who tries to make you do anything today and maybe even tomorrow except rest and get better." Patton said.

Then Virgil was being pushed down onto a bed, and when did they get back to his room? Weren't they just walking?

He heard new voices, and felt a hand on his cheek, which he instinctively leaned into with a small whine. Why did his head hurt? Why was it so warm? Who was talking and what where they saying?

He eventually managed to force his eyes open, and groaned softly at the bright light as he immediately snapped them shut.

"Hold on a minute." A voice said, and a few seconds later the light had significantly dimmed.

He slowly opened his eyes again, and blinked a few times before looked over at his side.

"Roman?" He asked softly as he looked up at his boyfriend.

"Hey Virgil." Roman said softly with a small smile as he sat down on a chair next to Virgil's bed.

"Roman- what happen? I feel like I got kicked by a horse." He mumbled.

"You're sick love, although it shouldn't have hit you this hard," Roman said as he gently cupped Virgil's cheek, and Virgil quickly nuzzled against his palm. "Have you been feeling okay these past few days?"

"Bit dizzy, real sleepy, gross." Virgil mumbled as he let his eyes slide close.

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" He asked, and virgil could practically hear the frown in his voice.

"Thought it was nothing." Virgil mumbled with a small yawn.

"Hey stay awake a bit longer," Roman said as he gently nudged Virgil's shoulder, "Patton's making you soup and should be back soon, and Logan's talking with the nurse." He said, "they probably want to check on you, you worried us quite a bit."

Virgil whined softly, "didn't mean to worry you." He mumbled.

"I know sweetie." Roman said as he gently rubbed Virgil's cheek with his thumb, "but we're gunna worry if you're sick and pass out for almost an hour."

"I passed out?"

"Yeah you did, have Patton quite a scare since you weren't responding." Roman said, "then me and lo showed up with the nurse and started looking you over, you should be fine with a few days of bed rest and plenty of fluids." He said.

"I'm sorry," Virgil said, and his eyes stung with a sudden batch of tears.

"Hey hey it's okay, no need to cry babe," Roman soothes softly, leaning forwards and pressing a kiss to Virgil's forehead. "None of us are upset with you, we just want to take care of you, okay?"

Virgil sniffed slightly and nodded.

"Good," Roman said softly.

Virgil dozed off a bit after that, despite Roman asking him to stay awake. He wasn't fully asleep, and heard soft singing which he assumed was roman. Then the next thing he knew he was being carefully sat up while someone called his name.

He sluggishly blinked his eyes open, and looked up to see Patton.

"Hey there Virge," Patton said as he gave him a smile, "I have some soup and water for you, and Logan's here now." Patton said as he gestured to Logan who stood a bit behind patton. "How are you feeling?"

"Sleepy." Virgil mumbled as his head lolled to the side, only for a hand to gently push it back up right. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Roman sitting behind him, propping him up on his chest.

Patton's laugh drew his attention back to his other boyfriend.

"I'm sure you're very sleepy, but you gotta eat and drink some water before going back to bed okay?"

" 'm not hungry." Virgil mumbled as he leaned back against Romans chest and nuzzled him, inky to whine as Roman sat him back up.

"Just half the bowl? Please?" Patton asked.

Virgil whined softly but reluctantly nodded.

He watched through half lidded eyes as Patton scooped up a spoonful of the soup, gently blew on it, before offering it to Virgil, who opened his mouth and took the bite without much thought about that fact that Patton was feeding him, too tired to car.

They got about a third of the way through the soup before he shook his head, saying he couldn't take any more. He managed another bite before refusing again, and only took a few sips of water before leaning back against Romans chest.

"Sleeep now?" He asked softly, drawing out his words a bit.

"Yes you can sleep now," Logan said softly, before gently laying a soft but damp cloth on his forehead. It felt really good on Virgil's heated skin, and he hummed softly as he practically melted against Romans chest, falling asleep a few seconds later.

He woke up a few more times throughout the day, but only for short amounts of time. At one point his parents where there, them another time Roman was singing again, then Logan was telling a story about bees or something to him, then Patton was gently carding his fingers through his hair.  
He was barely awake for these moments, and even then he rarely spoke.

He wasn't fully awake until some point that evening when Patton woke him up again, and tried to coax him into eating a bit of pudding. But his tongue felt fat and heavy in his mouth, and his throat felt dry and he could barely swallow it, but he managed half a glass of water.

"We're gunna stay with you tonight okay? Just tell us if you need anything." Patton said softly.

We? It was only then that Virgil noticed Roman and Logan sitting on either side of him, and he felt a bit bad for not noticing them, but neither of them seemed to mind.

"Do you need anything before bed?" Roman asked softly.

Virgil hummed softly, "bathroom?" He said, although it sounded more like a question. 

"Of course," Logan said, "would you like one of us to go with you?"

Virgil shook his head, his cheeks flushed from embarrassment. "No, but can you help me up please?" He asked.

Roman quickly helped him up and out of bed, and walked next to him as he made his way across the room to his bathroom.

When he was finished Roman helped him back to bed, and he felt exhausted, quickly falling asleep curled up against Romans side.

He woke up again later that night, and quickly clambered out of bed and to the bathroom, before throwing up what little he'd managed to eat that day. After there was nothing left he was stuck dry heaving, tears running down his face as he cried each time his body tried to puke but nothing came out except for the occasional mouthful of stomach acid that burned his throat and his nose.

It wasn't until he finally stopped that he noticed the gentle hands on his back and the soothing words being muttered too him.

He was gently pulled upright, and someone quickly cleaned up his face as he panted and whimpered weakly, and he barely registered someone softly muttering comforting words into his ear before he felt someone pick him up and carry him back to bed.

He didn't wake up again until morning the next day with a horrible headache that had him whimpering and hiding under the blankets with a pillow covering his face.

The others tried to sooth him, and the headache eventually died down after a few hours.

Logan and Patton forced him to drink a bit of water and eat some crackers sinc eh had thrown everything up last night, but he still wasn't hungry and only managed a few sips and a small handful of the crackers.

He slept most of the day away again, only waking up for an extended period of time when the nurse came back to see if he was getting better.

Then he slept through the rest of the day again, and only woke up when Patton tried to get him to drink more water and take him to the bathroom.

The next day was better though, since he stayed awake for most of the day, but he still stayed in bed with the others.

He didn't throw up and managed to eat two thirds of his soup that day, which made Patton ecstatic.

The next day he was basically back to normal, but they forced him to stay in bed again.

The other then told him what all had happened from their point of view, and scolded him for not telling them sooner.

He apologized many times, and they quickly forgave him and resorted to cuddling him as 'punishment' for making them worry, telling him he wasn't allowed out of their sight for the next week.

It wasn't all that bad now that he thought about it while he was better. It felt like he had been dying at the time, but the others took care of him and he appreciate it.

But now he agreed that being sick was awful, and hoped he wouldn't get sick again for a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And ta-da another chapter.  
Hopefully yalls like this chapter!!
> 
> Comment your opinions or if you have any requests!!
> 
> The next chapter will be out soon!!  
Bye!!


	56. Chapter 43

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "they're in the market for the day and Virgil goes off on his own because he wanted to find something for the other three to thank them for taking care of him while he was sick. But while he's not paying attention, a random guy comes up to him, pushes him in an alleyway and kisses him. What Virgil doesn't know is that Pat Lo and Ro saw and think he's cheating on him. Angst with happy ending."
> 
> Okay wow  
This is gunna be a fun rollercoaster of emotions  
And probably a bit on the long side.  
I kinda don’t think this would actually happen, I think they would try and pull him off and get angry at the dude and all before thinking he was cheating.  
But hey, a prompt is a prompt.
> 
> Hope yalls are ready for a n g s t. 
> 
> With some fluff I suppose.  
Hopefully yalls like it!!
> 
> Warning: consent issues and cursing

Virgil smiled as he ducked behind a cart, peeking between a few of the flowers on it to watch his boyfriends as they continued walking, not realizing he was gone yet.

He’d needed to sneak away so he could get them their gifts without them finding out, he wanted it to be a surprise after all.

He quickly began making his way to the eastern side of the market when he wasn’t able see them anymore, but still kept an eye out for them as he made his way. They probably noticed that he was gone by now, so he needed to be quick.

He had placed in an order at a local jewelry shop, and got a letter saying that his order was ready for pick up today. He was so excited that he’d practically begged his parents to let him go to town, happily agree when they said he’d need to take Roman, Logan and Patton with him.

Virgil gasped in surprised as someone suddenly grabbed his wrist and yanked him into an alleyway he’d been walking by on his way to the jewelry shop.

“What are you-” he was cut off by the person slamming him into the wall and pinning his wrists to either side of his face.

“Hey! Stop-” he was cut off again by the person surging forwards and capturing his lips in a kiss, shoving his tongue into Virgil’s mouth as he let out a small yelp.

It felt disgusting, and violating even. Virgil writhed and tried to squirm his way out of his grasp or at least away from the kiss, but the guy pushed him harder against the wall, smacking the back of Virgil’s head against the wall and clacking their teeth together.

He felt a knee slip between his legs and up towards his crotch, and made an angry and disgruntled sound as he tried to shove back against the man, only for him to dig his fingers into the tendons of Virgil’s wrists painfully. He then began to bite and pull at Virgil’s bottom lip, making Virgil involuntarily whine.

The man eventually pulled away from the gasp, leaving Virgil gasping, before moving down to his neck and biting painfully at a spot near his pulse.

“Get the fuck off of me.” Virgil said between pants as he kicked his legs, managing to hit the guy in the stomach with his knee.

The guy bit down harder, making Virgil yelp and gasp before kneeing him in the stomach again, harder this time, doing it again and again.

The guys grip loosened on Virgil’s wrists and he quickly wrenched them free. He shoved the man away before punching him in the jaw, and yeah it hurt Virgil’s hand but it sent the guy sprawling on to the ground.

Not bothering to check if the guy got back up or not, Virgil quickly ran out of the alleyway and down the street, only stopping when he got to the jewelry shop.

What the fuck was that? He felt so dirty, his skin crawling where he’d been touched and feeling like he wanted to vomit from the taste of the guy still in his mouth.

He shook off his discomfort though, and pulled his hood up a bit more before entering the shop, putting in a fake smile as he was greeted by the store clerk.

-

Virgil had had just about enough.

Roman Logan and Patton were all acting weird, they had been all week.

They’d been distant, and seemed uncomfortable every time he held one of their hands or gave them a kiss, it was really spiking his anxiety.

He’d asked them what was wrong, but each of them had brushed the question off before making some excuse and leaving.

He stepped into Patton’s room, where the three of them were, quietly closing the door behind him.

“Guys, can we talk?” Virgil began.

He watched as the three of them stiffened.

“Sure Virgil!” Patton said with a smile, “what is it?”

“Well, um,” Virgil glanced at the floor, “is...everything okay?” He asked.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s just...you guys have been acting different lately, and I don’t know why.” He said.

None of them said anything, and Virgil took another step farther into the room.

“Did something happen? If something happened or is happening then I can help.” He insisted.

“No I don’t think you can help Virgil.” Roman said softly from his seat on the edge of the bed.

“But- I think I can, please just tell me what’s wrong, I can try to make it better-”

“Virgil, this isn’t really something-”

“Patton please, I’m trying to figure out what’s wrong, but you guys aren’t giving me anything, just let me-”

“Just go away Virgil,” Roman said as he stood up, an irritated expression on his face. “There’s nothing you can do about this except make it worse, so please just go away.” He said, his irratedes expression turning into one that looked more hurt, which concerned Virgil, but he quickly brushed his concern away as a twinge anger twisted inside of him.

“What’s your problem?” Virgil said as he glared at Roman, “you’ve all been distant and weird, did I do something?”

“Guys, lets just take a quick-”

“No! If I did something wrong then I want to know!” Virgil interrupted Patton, feeling a small bit of guilt as Patton flinched slightly and took a step back, but it was quickly smothered by his rising anger and anxiety.

“Yes! Yes you did Virgil, are you happy now!?” Roman growled as he glared at him, taking a step closer to him.

“Well what did I do then?! What did I do that was so wrong that it made you all act like this?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Roman began sarcastically, “maybe making out with someone else!” He spat.

“What? Roman I never made out with anyone else, why the fuck would you think that?” Virgil spluttered, looking at him in confusion.

“Because I saw you!” Roman yelled. “He had you against the wall and you two were making out and he was touching you and-”

“So you saw what, five seconds and ran off to go tell Patton and Logan?” Virgil said angrily, “cause I guess you missed the part where I told him to get the fuck off me and socked him in the face.” He hissed.

“You- I- what?”

“Did you ever think that maybe I didn’t want to kiss that asshole? That maybe he dragged me into that alleyway and pinned me to the wall?”

Patton took a hesitant step closer to him. “Virgil we didn’t-“

“Stop,” Virgil interrupted as he held a hand up, taking a deep breath, “I don’t want- I can’t deal with this right now.” He said as he shook his head and walked over to the door. “Take a moment to think for once and come find me when you’re not gunna be a bunch of assholes.” He said, before leaving the room. He didn’t slam the door.

Virgil stormed out of the castle, heading out into the gardens where he could calm down.

His feet carried him to the tree him and the others usually sat under when they had free time, and he felt tears well up in his eyes.

He sat down at the base of the tree and sniffed as he reached into the inner pocket of his vest, pulling out the gifts he’d gotten for them that day.

He felt another twinge of anger inside him and scowled before throwing them away and over one of the hedges near the tree, not wanting to look at them right now or ever again really. He was too upset.

He pulled his knees up to his chest as tears ran down his face, sniffing softly as he looked at the soft grass gently swaying in the breeze.

He was angry, angry at Roman and the others for just assuming and not actually talking to him, angry that they thought he’d cheat on them. But on the other hand he could also kinda understand. If he thought he’d seen one of them making out with someone else then he probably would have run away too instead of standing to watch, so he couldn’t really blame Roman for that.

But he was also sad, and a bit hurt. He’d thought they’d talk to him if they had a problem, communication was important in relationships, and he knew they knew that.

But he couldn’t blame them for that earlier. It’s hard to talk about things, especially things that make you upset or that you just want to forget about.

Of course he was also partly to blame in the mess, he didn’t tell them what had happened with the guy. Sure it wasn’t really their business, but if he had just told them about it then maybe none of this would have been happening. But it wasn’t something he wanted to talk about, and he didn’t want to make them upset, so he’d kept it to himself. Maybe not the best decision.

“Your highness? Um, Virgil? Are you okay?”

Virgil looked up and saw Bailey, a member of the castle staff, standing in front of him, a concerned look on their face.

“Oh, hi Bailey.” Virgil said as he quickly tried to wipe his tears away, despite knowing that they had probably already seen his puffy red eyes an the tear tracks. “Sorry, did I interrupt your work?”

“No you didn’t,” they said as they carefully moved to sit down next to Virgil. “Is...is everything okay?” They asked cautiously.

Virgil sniffed and let out a small sad laugh, “no, no I don’t think it is.”

-

Virgil didn’t slam the door, but when he closed it the three of them flinched like he had.

Angry tears welled up in Romans eyes and he quickly looked away from where he’d been staring at the spot Virgil had just been standing in. “Fuck I messed up.” He said as he quickly tried to wipe away his tears as they spilled down his face. “God I’m such an idiot.” He mumbled into his hands as he rubbed his eyes, ultimately failing at stopping the flow of his tears.

“Hey, no you’re not.” Patton said softly as he carefully put a hand on Romans shoulder, only for Roman to push his hand away and take a few steps away from him.

“No I really am pat,” He said with a sniff, “I’m so fucking stupid, don’t try to make me feel better.” He said as he took a few more steps back.

“I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions, I just saw him and bolted and fuck I’m so stupid.” His back hit the wall and he slid down it till he was sitting with his knees pressed to his chest, his face still buried in his hands. “And then I told you guys without knowing what was happening and now he’s mad at us and I hurt him and he hates me and I made him mad at you and- a-and-” He hiccuped softly, cutting himself off as a lump formed in his throat.

“Hey, now you listen to me right now mister.” Patton said sternly as he kneeled down next to Roman. “You’re not an idiot, and you’re not stupid,” he said, “yes you made a mistake but making mistakes is okay,” he said, his voice going from stern to gentle, “and it’s not entirely your fault, both me and Logan didn’t react well to the situation either.” He added.

“B-but I-” Roman choked, “n-now he’s so mad and he hates me.” He said with a sniff as he curled up a bit more.

“Roman can I touch you?” Patton asked, keeping his voice calm.

Roman hesitated before nodding sharply, still hiccuping softly. 

Patton placed a gentle hand on Romans knee, “I’m sure he doesn’t hate you,” Paton said, “yes he probably feels hurt and he’s probably upset, any of us would be if we were in his shoes in the whole mess.” He continued as he moved his hands up to pry Romans hands away from his face, holding them gently. “You can’t blame yourself though, cause it’s not only your fault.” He said softly, a sad expression on his face. All three of them were at fault.

Roman sniffed as he looked at Patton, before nodding as he uncurled his legs, and hesitantly opened his arms. “Please...”

Patton quickly pulled him into a hug, tucking Romans head under his chin as he held him tightly, murmuring soft reassurances into his hair. Roman cried softly as he buried his face against Patton’s neck hugging him tightly.

It took him several minutes to calm down, his breathing slowly calming and going back to normal, with the occasional sniff.

He pulled his head back and looked at his other boyfriend who’d been quiet the whole time.

“Logan...”

Logan glanced away for a second before kneeling down in front of the two of them, who watched as he took a deep breath before speaking.

“You made a mistake,” he began, and he and Patton couldn’t help but notice the small flinch from Roman, “you jumped to a conclusion and spread information without checking the facts and it was very wrong for you to do.” He continued. “You hurt Virgil, and it’s going to take time to make things better and back to normal.”

“But...” Logan paused. “Even the best people make mistakes, and Patton is correct that neither he or I reacted well to the situation.” He said slowly, “all three of us hurt Virgil by not bringing the problem up to him in a civil and calm way, which is why things escalated,” he continued. “The best thing we can do right now is to either wait for Virgil to come back, or go to him.” He said.

“But, we don’t know where he went.” Roman said.

“We could check his room,” Patton suggested. “Or-” He was cut off by a knock on the door.

The three of them paused, glancing at each other, before Logan stood and walked over to the door, pulling it open.

There stood Bailey, a slightly anxious but determined look on their face.

“Hello,” Logan said as he cocked an eyebrow. “This ain’t the best time...”

“I know,” Bailey said, “I talked with Virgil.” They added.

Both Roman and Patton perked up at that. “Do you know where he is?” Patton asked. “We need to talk to him.” He added.

Bailey seemed to hesitate before nodding. “Yes I know where he is,” they said, “but...you’re not going to yell at him again are you?” They asked, their eyes lingering on Roman for a few seconds, watching as he visibly deflated, a pained and guilty look on is face.

“No, we just want to talk and get everything cleared up.” Logan said. “We don’t have any plans on letting things get out of hand again.” He added.

Bailey nodded. “Alright,” they said, “follow me.”

Bailey lead all three of them out to the garden, and to their tree where Virgil was sitting with Remy perched on his shoulder, the raven puffing up slightly and letting out a low hiss as they walked closer, only stoping when Virgil gently shushed him.

He had explained everything to Bailey, who had talked with him and helped to calm him down before leaving to get the other three.

“I’m going to be nearby,” Bailey said as the three of them sat across from Virgil, none of them looking at each other, “and I’ll still be in ear shot, so I’ll know if you start arguing again and I’ll come stop it.” They added, casting a glance between all of them, before turning around the corner and leaving the four of them alone, Remy quickly following after him when Virgil told him to and that he’d be okay by himself.

They sat in silence for a few seconds, before Roman took a deep breath.

“Virgil-”

“Stop.” Virgil interrupted, finally looking up at them. “Just...can I explain what happened? Please?” He asked, glancing between them.

Roman blinked, slightly surprised, but nodded slowly.

Virgil nodded and took a deep breath. “So,” He began, “that day in the market I snuck away from the three of you, and while I was gone I was grabbed and pulled into an alley, where a guy kissed and touched me without my consent.” He said, noticing how all three of them stiffened. “I eventually managed to get out of his hold and punched him before running away and eventually coming back to you guys.” He said. “Now you explain what happened from your point of view.” He said.

Bailey had told him that they should, before trying to discuss everything and make it better, fully understand what everyone had though happened. Get everyone’s point of view.

“Well, we notice you had disappeared,” Roman began, “so we decided to split up and look for you, which is when I saw you in the alley.” Roman continued as he looked down at the ground, “It looked like you were making out with him, and I didn’t see you struggling, although I couldn’t really see your face.” He added. “I was surprised, and hurt, and ran away, then I found Logan and Patton and told them what I had seen, or what I had thought I’d seen.”

“We didn’t know what to do at first,” Patton said, picking things up after Roman stopped talking, “we didn’t want to confront you about it there in public, so we were going to wait to talk with you about it back here.” He continued. “But then you were just acting so normal, as if nothing had happened, which helped make it seem more believable that you had gone to make out with this guy on purpose and didn’t want us to know, since we thought you’d be acting different if you hadn’t wanted it and had been forced.” He added. “It got awkward, and we ended up not talking about it, and I guess our awkwardness lead to distancing ourselves from you and acting differently.” He admitted.

“And then I confronted you about it.” Virgil said softly as he looked at them with a sad expression.

“Yeah...” Patton said with a small nod.

Virgil sighed softly. “I was trying to act normal so that you guys couldn’t see how shaken up about it I was.” He admitted, “I didn’t want to make you worry, so I just tried to forget about it, pretend it never happened and act normal. I guess it kinda backfired though.” He added. “If I had told you from the start than none of this would have happened.”

“But if I hadn’t jumped to conclusions then this wouldn’t have happened either,” Roman said, “I should have trusted you more, I should have realized that you wouldn’t have cheated on us, but I just-” he cut himself off as he started to get worked up again, biting his lip and looking away.

“Roman, I love you three more than anything,” Virgil said, “I should have trusted you guys to not get upset and just told you from the start.” He added.

“...I guess we need to work on trusting each other more.” Patton said softly.

“And communication.” Logan said, finally speaking. “The main parts of our situation that are problematic are because of lack of a clear communication between us. If you hadn’t tried to hide it to make us happy then none of this would have happened, and if we had expressed our concerns to you in a calm manner then none of this would have happened.” He continued. “I know everyone is a bit hurt, and everyone has the right to be considering all that has happened,” he glanced between the three of them. “But...I still love you all, very dearly, and don’t want our relationship to end because of this, albeit very large, misunderstanding.” He said.

“Me too,” Patton said. “I can’t imagine not being able to be with you three.”

“Gosh me too,” Roman said, and suddenly there were tears in his eyes again, “I can’t imagine not being able to hold you all, and kiss you, and love you, and take care of you, and make you happy.” He said as he sniffed and moved to wipe his tears away.

Virgil stayed silent for a few seconds, before sniffing as well. “You guys got me crying again,” he said with a small laugh as he also moved his hand to try and wipe his tears away.

“Virgil-” Patton started, but stopped when Virgil shook his head.

He sniffed again before looking up at them, and giving them a small watery smile. “Me too.” He said softly, “I don’t want this to be the end for us, you guys mean so much to me, I can’t-” his voice cut off for a second, “I can’t imaging ever being happy without you.” He said softly as he looked up at them, before opening his arms.

A new wave of tears welled up in Romans eyes, and he quickly moved forward, hugging Virgil tightly and burying his face in the crook of his neck as he cried, but smiled as he felt both Patton and Logan join the hug as well.

They continued to talk, each of them promising to be better about talking and expressing their concerns, even if they were small.

“Hey Virgil,” Patton asked, his voice soft.

They were all cuddled together under the tree now, with Roman held against Virgil’s chest in his lap with Patton and Logan pressed to either side of them, a pile of tangled arms and legs that was somehow comfortable and grounding.

“Yeah?” Virgil said as he turned his head to look at him, resting his chin on the top of Romans head.

“Why did you sneak away that day?” He asked. “If you don’t mind my asking.” He added.

Virgil blushed, and a sheepish smile crept its way into his face.

“I um, I had been getting you guys a gift, as a thank you for taking care of me while I was sick.” He said shyly as he shifted to reach into his inner vest pocket. Bailey had went and found them before giving them back to Virgil, saying he shouldn’t get rid of them unless their relationship truly was over.

“Awe Virgil, you didn’t need to get us anything,” Patton cooed as he pressed a kiss to Virgil’s cheek. “Taking care of you and making you happy was enough.”

“Now I feel like even more of an asshole.” Roman muttered softly.

“Hush, you’re not an asshole I was just angry when I said that.” Virgil said softly as he held him closer.

“Then I’m an idiot.” Roman said.

“Well you’re my idiot, and I don’t let my idiots think they’re idiots,” Virgil said, “only I’m allowed to think that my idiots are idiots.”

“That doesn’t even make any sense.” Roman said with a small laugh.

“Hush babe and except your present.” Virgil said as he opened his hand for all of them to see.

In his palm sat four lockets, glimmering pale gold in the sun. They were circles, roughly an inch and a half in diameter, and were engraved with a beautiful sun design on the front.  
On the back of each were additional engravings of small sprigs, each different, and the owners name in an elegant font.

Virgil’s had a single hellebore stem, Logan’s had a fluffy sprig of jacaranda, Patton’s had a cluster of oxeye daises, and Roman’s had bundle of marigolds.

“Oh Virgil,” Patton said as he gently picked up the one with his name, “they’re so pretty.” He said softly as he looked it over.

“You really like them? I wasn’t sure if you guys would.” Virgil admitted as he gave Logan and Roman theirs.

“I don’t like it,” Roman said as he carefully turned the locket over in his hand, “I love it.” He said with a fond smile.

“Will you help me put mind on?” Logan asked Patton, a smile gracing his lips as well.

“Of course,” Patton said, before moving so he was behind Logan, carefully clasping the necklace behind his neck. The locket falling to rest in the middle of his sternum, where it continued to glimmer in the sun brightly.

“Help me with mine?” Patton asked, and the two quickly switched positions so that Logan could help Patton with his necklace too.

“Can I put yours on you?” Roman asked, a little hesitant.

Virgil smiled at him, “I’d love that.” He said, and the two moved so that Roman could put on Virgil’s necklace, before Virgil did the same for him.

“There isn’t anything inside of them.” Virgil said as he pulled Roman back into his lap, wrapping his arms around his waist and hooking his chin over his shoulder. “So you can find something to put in them on your own.” He added.

“I’m going to find something that reminds me of you guys inside.” Patton said as he gently touched the locket around his neck with a small fond smile.

“I might do that too,” Virgil said, “then I won’t feel so alone when I need to go on trips by myself.” He added softly.

“You won’t be alone for much longer.” Logan said, “we’ll finish our training and studies soon, and then we can go with you.” He said.

Virgil smiled and closed his eyes as he hugged Roman tighter. “I know, but you won’t always be able to come with me.” He said.

“Then we’ll exchange letters if you’re gone for too long and we can’t come for whatever reason,” Roman said as he tilted his head back to lean against Virgil’s shoulder. “If you ever feel lonely then just write to us.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Virgil said with a small laugh.

They spent the rest of the day outside, sitting under the tree, and that night they all gathered in Virgil’s room and exchanged many kisses and cuddles, the three of them quickly peppering Virgil’s neck and collarbone with hickeys when he told them that the guy from before had left a hickey and teethmarks, the three of them wanting to cover it up and move past the whole ordeal.

It was still going to be a little awkward and it was going to take a bit of time for everything to settle and go back to normal, but they’d work through it together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And huzzah another chapter.  
Hopefully yalls like this one 👌  
The neck chapter should be out soon!! 
> 
> Feel free to comment your opinions or any requests!!
> 
> Bye!!!


	57. Chapter 44

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: 'Patton takes a walk in the forest, looking around at the beautiful scenery. Something captures him, ends up taking a strong liking to him. The others try and rescue him.'
> 
> Oh boy oh boy I hope yalls already.  
I was kinda hesitant to do this prompt, but then I started looking into who could take Patton,  
And I eventually found who I was gunna do,  
And now I'm really attached to the idea.  
None of yalls are gunna guess who takes him,  
I guarantee it,  
None of yalls.
> 
> NOTE: the information I have about the person who takes Patton is from the internet, so I apologize if it's not fully correct but I tried my best I swear!!
> 
> Anywho, I hope yalls like the chapter!!

Patton groaned softly as he slowly regained consciousness. He pushed himself up a bit and found that he had been laying in a bed of thick, soft moss.  
His head hurt a bit, but when he reach up he couldn't pin point the spot that hurt, so he didn't think it was an injury.

He shifted a bit and moved to sit criss-cross, looking around him.  
He was in some part of the forest, surrounded by large trees with twisted roots that were covered in moss and small white flowers.  
The sun was still up in sky, or at least it looked like it was from what Patton could see through the leaves above him.

How had he gotten here? Last he remembered he was walking along the path through the woods with Emile, having practiced his hunting on a couple of mice, which he let go after Emile brought them to him.

He'd felt a small chill up his spine, then he was waking up here.

He looked around again, this time trying to find Emile, but didn't see his friend anywhere, and carefully stood up, shivering slightly at the cool air.

"Hello." A soft voice spoke from somewhere around him.

"Hello?" Patton parroted, looking around again. He was alone in the small clearing. "Is someone there."

"Someone, yes, someone." The voice said again. It was female, or at least Patton thought it was, and sounded old too.

"Who are you? Why am I here?" Patton asked as he wrapped his arms around himself, it felt much colder now.

"I am known by many names," the voice said again, "but you might know me as Buschgroßmutter." It said.

Patton whirled around and saw a small old woman standing behind him where no one had been a moment ago.

She was kind of odd though. She was shorter than Patton, especially with her hunched back, and had grey wrinkly skin. Her eyes were large and round and had pupils similar to a goats, and irises a pale grey almost purple color. Her feet were bare but covered in a thick layer of green moss, which also covered her shoulders and the large basket that was strapped to her back. She wore an old brown dress and had an apron that was tucked into her belt to form a pouch of sorts and bulged with what looked like dried leaves, and was holding a tall gnarled staff as well, made out of wood that looked like the roots of the trees around them. But her most noticeable feature, was her long snow white hair that touched the ground behind her. It was tangled and messy, but beautiful none the less.

"Buschgroßmutter?" Patton said as he tilted his head. The name seemed familiar...maybe from one of the stories from Logan's book?

"Why did you take me? Where am I?" Patton asked as he stared at her, not daring to look away should she disappear.

"I took you because I wanted you." She said as if it was as simple as that.

"Why did you want me?" Patton asked with a frown, a bit of panic pooling in his stomach.

"Because I did." She said with a small shrug. "Is it wrong for me to take what I want?"

"But you can't have me," Patton said, "I'm a person."

"Don't tell me what I can't have," She said as she glared at him and Patton frozen.

"I-I'm sorry." He said softly.

She stared at him for a few more seconds before turning to look out at the trees.

"Um, Miss Buschgroßmutter, can I please go home? I have people who will miss me." Patton said after a few beats of silence.

"People who will miss you?" She asked curiously.

"Yes, I have people who will miss me." Patton said with a nod.

She seemed to think it over for a few seconds.

"If you can do me one favor, then I will give you a reward." She said.

"Will my reward be to go back?" Patton asked.

"Perhaps." She said softly. "you complete my favor."

Well, that was pretty vague. It didn't guarantee he could go home, but it seemed like the best option he had.

"What is it you need me to do?" Patton asked.

"I want you to brush and clean my hair." She said.

Her hair? It was a bit messy, but why didn't she just do it herself.

"Your hair?" He asked, slightly confused.

"Yes, my hair." She said. "My daughters can bring you a comb to brush it, and water to clean it." She said.

Suddenly short figures crept out of the trees around them, and not from between the trees, but out of the trees themselves. They looked tile small woman, thu skin a pale grey almost green, their hair made from moss, wearing small dresses similar to Buschgroßmutter's. They were pretty, but also creepy in away. None of them blinked, they eyes round and dark, instead of light and pale like Buschgroßmutter's.

"These are my daughters," Buschgroßmutter said as she gestured to the small girls, who went no taller than Patton's chest and no shorter than his hip. "They will bring you the water and the comb, if you chose to do the favor." She continued, "or you could not chose the favor and stay with us." She added.

Patton slowly shook his head as he tore his gaze away from the girls and back to Buschgroßmutter. "No thank you," He said softly, "I'd much rather go home I'm afraid." He added.

"I assumed you'd say that," Buschgroßmutter said, before turning to her daughters. "Run along now, bring him a comb to brush my hair, bring him water to was it as well." She said.

The girls quickly scampered off back into the forest, two showing up only seconds later with a wooden comb that they held up to Patton, which he took with a smile and a small thank you.

The two girls seemed delighted and went to go sit on the bed of moss Patton had woken up on.

Another three showed up and helped Buschgroßmutter to take the large basket off of her back, carefully setting it down on the ground not to far away, before helping her sit down on the moss as well.

Patton hesitantly moved to sit behind her, and carefully picked up the the ends of her hair, but almost dropped it in surprise. The strands were as cold as ice, and Patton's fingers almost stung from the biting cold.

"Should have warned you," one of the girls said, "mothers hair is very cold, very harmful." She said as she idly picked at the moss that covered her bare feet.

"You May still back out of our favor if you wish." Buschgroßmutter said.

Patton hesitated. Would he even be able to brush and was her hair? It was so cold, and it hurt his fingers...  
Then he thought about Roman, Logan and Virgil. They were probably worried sick about him. How long had he been gone for? Did they know he was gone even? What had happened to Emile?

Patton carefully picked up the ends of her hair again, biting his lip as the cold strands bit at his fingers, and carefully began to comb out the knots that had worked they way there after who knows how long it had been since it had last been brushed.

It hurt. It hurt a lot, and he ended up switching hands often in order to relive the pain in one hand. It took a long time as well. Her hair was so long and the knots where so tough and well knit together that he had to abandon the comb at some points and pick apart the knots with his hands.

More of her daughters had show up, and where sitting around them at talking amongst themselves as Patton worked. They brought the water, in large wooden bowls that they had set near Patton, ready for him when he needed them.

He eventually found that she had bugs in her hair as well, and her daughters told him that he needed to get them out before washing her hair.

So as he combed he also picked out the bugs which had made their homes in her hair and on her scalp. How they survived in the ice cold strand he'd never know.

It took many hours, and Patton had lost the feeling in his fingers awhile ago. He could barely bend them in order to pluck the bugs from her hair, and he feared that they would snap off from how frozen them seemed to be.

But he continued working, and even began to talk with the daughters, who told him many stories for their various travels, and one even whispered into his ear that their mother might be more inclined to let him go home is he made her hair pretty.

The though of having to continue touching her hair made both fear and dread pool in Patton's stomach, but if it increased his chances of going home...

He continued to untangle her hair, finally reaching her scalp. He quickly combed through it and plucked out more bugs, carefully thumbing through her hair in search of them. It was getting dark now, so he tried to do this as quickly as he could.

He spent almost two hours picking out each an every bug, since when he thought he'd found them all he ended up finding another. And then sometimes he wasn't fast enough to grab them and he had to find a new one.

After he was sure he'd gotten every bug and every tangle, he began to wash her hair. The water hurt his hands but it didn't freeze like he though it would die to the hair.

Washing didn't take nearly as long, but he decided to take the little girls advice from earlier and do extra to make Buschgroßmutter's hair pretty. He asked a few of the girls to find him some flowers, and they quickly raced off into the forest, and came back maybe thirty minutes later with several bundles of yellow, purple, and white flowers.

He then began to carefully and slowly braid Buschgroßmutter's hair, having go go slow since his hands were so cold. All of him was cold really, he was shivering and his teeth chattered, but he continued to braised her hair, carefully weaving the flowers in as he did. The braiding took him another few hours to do due to how slow he had gone, and then he continued to add more flowers before announcing he was finished.

He could barely move his hands and he was violently shivering, and he could barely hear himself think over the chattering of his own teeth. The sky was a pale grey almost purple, which meant the sun had began to rise.

"I see you've managed to clean and comb my hair," Buschgroßmutter said softly as she told and turned to look at him, "you even braided it so nicely and added such pretty flowers."

"Please human," She said as she knelt in front of where Patton still sat, "Tell me why it is you want. I can give you gold, or cures for any illness."

"P-please," Patton stuttered, barely able to get the words out. "L-l-let m-me go h-home." He said as he met her eyes.

She sighed softly but nodded. "Alright, if that is what you truly want." She said before standing up.

"Thank you for what you've done for me, and thank you for socializing with my daughters, we rarely speak with anyone these days." She said, before turning to her girls. "Off with you now, he needs to go home and I need you to bring me my cart."

The girls all looked at Patton for a few seconds, before scampering off back into the trees. But not before one stepped forwards and pressed a tiny white flower into his hands, and gave him a smile before darting after her sister's.

Two came back, pulling along a wooden cart with a donkey attached to the front of it. The cart is full of moss and has a bench in the front where someone can sit and steer.

Buschgroßmutter turned to look at Patton, giving him a small smile before pressing two fingers to his forehead.

Patton groaned softly as his eyes rolled back into his head as he collapsed to the ground, the world fading out of focus.

He felt multiple tiny hands on him, picking him up and laying him down on something soft. He regained his vision for a few seconds and saw Buschgroßmutter sitting on the bench of the cart in front of him, which meant he must be laying in the moss that filled the back of the cart.

The worked faded to black again, and this time he lost all sense to the world, fading into the darkness.

-

"Patton! Patton can you hear me!"

Patton groaned softly and shifted as his face scrunched up.

He felt hands on his shoulders, their grip tight as they shook him.

"I think he's waking up."

"Patton?"

Patton slowly peeled his eyes open, his vision swimming for a few seconds before he focused on the three faces above him.

He was on the ground, in the forest still, but on the path it looked like, and it was dark out.

"...Roman?" He muttered softly, his voice barely above a whisper. Roman was the one directly above him, hands holding his shoulders.

He watched as tears welled up in Romans eyes, before he was quickly pulled into a hug, which was soon joined by Virgil and Logan.

"Patton thank goodness," Roman said as he cried, holding Patton's limp body closer. "I thought you were dead," he murmured, "you were so cold and still, and you were missing for so long, I thought you were dead." He said with a sniff as he tucked Patton against his chest, holding him tightly.

Patton opened his mouth to respond but no sound came out, just a small whine.

His head lolled to the side, and he felt awful at the panicked looks on their faces as he fainted, but there was nothing he could do as the world turned to darkness again.

He woke up on and off a few times. It felt like he was being carried at one point, then he felt a warm bed beneath him that didn't feel like moss.

He heard voices but didn't have the energy to move or acknowledge them as he quickly drifted off again.

He eventually woke up and stayed awake. He didn't know how long it had been, but sunlight streamed in through the window next to his bed.

There were several blankets piled on top of him, and he felt so warm and relaxed he was tempted to go back to sleep, and he probably would have had he not made eye contact with the three people at his bedside.

"Patton?" Virgil said softly as he reached forwards but didn't touch him, looking worried and scared.

Patton gave him the best smile he could, although it was still pretty small. "Hey Virge." He said softly, his voice a bit rough and barely louder than a whisper.

All three of his boyfriends seemed to sag at that, like they had been help up by tense strings that had just been cut, letting them sag and relax.

"How are you feeling?" Logan asked softly from his seat near Patton's legs.

"A bit dizzy and confused," Patton admitted. "How long have I been out?" He asked.

"You've been unconscious for a little more than twenty four hours, or since we found you. You had been unconscious before that for an unknown amount of time." Logan explained.

"Pat, where were you?" Roman asked as he reached forwards and took Patton's hand, "you where gone for days Patton, you just vanished and Emile came home freaking out and no one could find you anywhere." He said and it looked like he'd been crying for a while and looked like he was going to start again.

"I was...I was taken by a spirit? I think?" Patton said as he carefully pushed himself to sit up, Roman quickly moving forwards to help. "Her name was Buschgroßmutter and she had a bunch of moss daughters."

He turned to look at Logan, "Do you recognize her? From one of your books?"

Logan frowned but nodded.

"The Buschgroßmutter, or 'shrub grandmother' is a forest spirit that lives deep in woods that doesn't usually show herself to humans." Logan began. "She is as old as the hills, and looks small with a hunched back and wrinkly skin. Her hair is long, as white as snow, but messy and full of bugs. she also holds a gnarled stick in her hand, and her feet are covered by moss. She is usually seen with her apron tied into a pouch and carrying a basket on her back." He continued.

"She asks people to comb and or delouse her hair, and those who fulfill her request are usually rewarded with a neverending clew of yarn, or with yellow leaves which will later become gold if not thrown away, or cures to illnesses. But it is very difficult to clean because her hair is as cold as ice, thus leading to a (temporary) freezing of the helper's hands. Sometimes she will attack or take children which are picking berries or steal the milk of a herdsman's cows, and she is regionally used to scare the children."

"Normally she is a solitary figure, but occasionally she is said to be the leader of a horde of Moosfräulein or 'moss ladies', who are female forest spirits said to be her daughters. They roam the countryside, and she travels in a little cart or wagon." he finished.

"Uh, yeah, that sounds like her." Patton said, "she had me comb and clean her hair in order to allow me to come back." He said softly. "And her daughters where there, they helped me by getting me water and a comb and giving me tips." he added. 

"The moss people are kind for the most part, and do offer humans good advice and help during times of plague." Logan said.

"So you were taken by some spirit lady? Do you know why?" Roman asked as he gently squeezed Patton's shoulder.

"No I don't, I asked her and all she said was she took me because she wanted me." He said with a small shrug.

"Well, we'll have to be more careful about spirits then, maybe no going off into the woods by ourselves from now on." Logan said softly.

"Nobody's going anywhere right now," Virgil said, "cause now where are going to cuddle and you are going to eat and let us take care of you." He said to Patton. "You're probably hungry and are probably still a bit sluggish from the cold." He added.

Patton nodded, "a little bit." He admitted.

"I'll call for someone to bring you soup then," Virgil said, "then your going to let me hold you and hug you and give you kisses." He said with the most serious expression he could muster.

Patton couldn't help laughing softly as he nodded, which drew out smiled from all three of them. "Okay Virgil, but you might have to fight Roman for holding me." He added. Roman was still holding Patton's hand, and had begun to crawl into the bed as well.

"I will willingly fight him." Virgil said as he stood up and went to go speak with the guards that were positioned outside the door.

He didn't need to fight him, since the compromised and each pressed close to him on either side, while Patton held Logan up against his chest and pressed kisses to his temple while carding a hand through his hair.

The made him eat the entire bowl of soup, and drink a full cup of tea before letting him go back to sleep, all of them securely wrapped around him, their presence comforting.

As he drifted off to sleep he thought he heard the faint laughter of one of the Moosfräulein ringing in his ear, but he brushed it off and let sleep overtake him, the sound of his boyfriends steady breathing and the feeling of their warmth lulling him to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well? How was that?  
Hopefully yalls liked it!!  
The next chapter should be it soon!
> 
> Feel free to comment your opinions or a request!!!
> 
> Bye!!!


	58. Chapter 45

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: 'Virgil sneaks out onto the roof to stargaze' and 'Virgil and Logan stargaze together'
> 
> This is gunna be cute.  
There will be some kissing and or making out and such, so fair warning.  
Other than that it's just fluff, fluff, and more fluff.
> 
> I hope yalls like this chapter!!

Virgil hummed softly and held Logan closer, smiling as his boyfriend nuzzled his face against Virgil's neck. It was just the two of them that night, Roman and Patton where out on some late night guard training exercise thing.

"Hey Logan," Virgil began as he gently carded his fingers through his hair.

"Yes Virgil?" Logan asked, his voice soft and a bit sleepy.

"Do you want to go watch the stars?" He asked, "the nights clear and they're shining brightly." He added.

"I'd love to," Logan said, "but I doubt your guards will let us go out in the middle of the night."

"Probably not," Virgil agreed, "but we could go out the window and onto the roof." He suggested.

"Hmm, its a bit dangerous." Logan said as he mulled the idea over.

"You say that, but you and the other two would sneak out your windows and come to my room so you have no room to talk about what's dangerous." Virgil said with a laugh as he pressed a kiss to Logan's forehead.

Logan chuckled softly, "I suppose you have a point." He said.

"What if we're extra careful?" Virgil asked, "can we please?"

Logan waited a few seconds, mulling the idea over, before nodding. "I suppose I can agree to going up there if we'e careful." He said as he sat up.

Virgil grinned and sat up as well, before getting out of bed and pulling Logan towards the window.

The two of them carefully slipped outside, and walked along the ledge that was roughly six inches wide before climbing up onto the actual roof and finding a secure spot where they could lay down.

"Will you tell me the constellations?" Virgil asked as he snuggled into Logan's side, smiling as Logan wrapped his arm around him.

"Do you want me to point them out and tell you facts, or would you prefer myths?" Logan asked.

Virgil hummed softly, "a bit of both?" He asked.

Logan laughed softly and nodded, "Alright," he said, before looking up at the sky.

"That's the constellation Andromeda, it's is the 19th largest constellation in the sky, occupying an area of 722 square degrees." He began, "Cassiopeia, Andromeda's mother, once claimed that she was the most beautiful woman in the world, even more beautiful than the gods. Poseidon, god of the seas, took great offense at this statement, for he knew he had created the most beautiful creatures ever, his sea nymphs."

"In his anger, he created a great sea monster, Cetus, to ravage the seas and sea coast. But Cassiopeia would not take back her words, so it was decreed that she must sacrifice her only daughter, Andromeda, to Cetus."

"Andromeda was chained to a large rock halfway into the sea and was left there to await the arrival of Cetus. As Cetus approached Andromeda, Perseus, the son of Zeus, arrived. He had recently killed the gorgon Medusa and was carrying her severed head in a special bag."

"When Perseus saw the beautiful maiden in distress he went to her aid. Facing the terrible sea monster, he drew the head of Medusa from the bag and held it so that the sea monster would see it, immediately turning Cetus to stone. He then freed the beautiful Andromeda, claimed her as his bride, and took her home with him as his queen to rule." Logan finished, gently carding his fingers through Virgil's hair.

"Hmm, Cassiopeia doesn't seem like a nice mom," Virgil said, "she didn't fight for her daughter."

"No, many parents in myths are bad and selfish, but there are some who are good." Logan agreed with a nod.

"But, near to Andromeda is the constellation for her mother." Logan said, pointing it out. "Poseidon and his brother Zeus decreed that Casseopia would indeed be placed in the sky as a constellation, but as punishment for being so conceited, she would suffer the humiliating position of being seen as upside down in the sky during the fall of the year when her constellation is clearest." He said.

"I don't think she should have gotten a constellation, even if she is upside down," Virgil said as he looked at where Logan was pointing.

"Roman agrees with you on that," Logan said with a smile, "and being put upside down probably hurt her ego quite a bit."

"Still..." Virgil mumbled, earning a small laugh from Logan.

"Perseus also has a constellation." Logan said, as he pointed his finger to a different spot in the sky.

"His story is one of the best known of the Greek myths. He was the of Zeus and Danae, but when he was a baby he and mother and he were locked in a wooden box by his grandfather, Acrisius, and thrown out into the sea to perish." Logan began.

"Well that sounds lovely," Virgil said sarcastically.

Logan smiled. "However, the box did not sink, but instead floated to the shore of another land. The king of that country, Polydectes, fell madly in love with Danae, and wanted her to marry him. But she would not marry him, for she wanted to spend all of her time taking care of Perseus."

"When Perseus had grown older Polydectes tricked him into agreeing to go on a mission for him. The mission was so dangerous that Polydectes was sure that Perseus would be killed, and with Perseus out of the way, Danae would be forced to marry him."

"In order to prove himself to Polydectes, Perseus would have to go to the cave of the gorgons and kill Medusa by cutting off her head and bringing it back as proof to him. Perseus agreed, and the next morning he went up to the top of a mountain and sang songs to welcome the rising sun. This pleased the gods, and several came down to Perseus and gave him gifts to aid him in his fight with the gorgons."

"Athena gave him her shield to look into so he could look at the gorgons, without fear turning to stone. Hermes gave him a pair of winged sandals that would allow him to travel several miles in one step, and Hermes also gave him a sword, the only one that was sharp enough to cut off Medusa's head. And Hades came to give him a helmet that would turn Perseus invisible when he put it on. With these gifts and a special sack to put Medusa's head in, Perseus went to the cave of the gorgons."

"When Perseus entered the gorgon's cave, he placed the helmet of invisibility and, using the polished shield as a mirror, began to examine the head of each sleeping gorgon until he found Medusa with her hair of hissing snakes."

"Being careful to keep looking only into his shield Perseus slashed downward with his sword and cut Medusa's head off. He quickly scooped up the head and placed it in the sack, before running from the cave. On his way home, Perseus was able to use the head to help rescue Andromeda from the Cetus and take her home. Perseus returned home just in time to stop the forced marriage of his mother Danae to Polydectes, and when when Perseus proved he had completed his mission by showing Polydectes Medusa's head, Polydectes and his wedding guests all turned to stone."

"It is said that Perseus gave Medusa's head to Athena, who attached it to the front of her shield. Perseus then lived to an old age and became the king of Mycenae. After his death, Zeus gave Perseus a place among the constellations next to his beloved Andromeda."

"Hmm, I guess that makes sense," Virgil said as he nuzzled his face against Logan's neck, "Perseus doesn't seem all that bad."

"No not in this story." Logan said as he pressed a kiss to his temple.

"Another constellation having to do with Perseus is Pegasus," Logan said as he pointed to another spot. "Pegasus is said to have sprung forth from the spilled blood of Medusa, which dripped into the ocean after she was killed by Perseus. Pegasus was eventually tamed by Minerva, and was given to Bellerophon to aid him in conquering the monster Chimera." He said.

"Bellerophon was successful in  
destroying the monster. He then attempted to ride Pegasus up to Mount Olympus to live with the gods. Zeus, angered that Bellerophon thought he was good enough to be a god, made an insect sting Pegasus, causing him to buck Bellerophon off, who fell to his death."

"Pegasus continued his flight up to Mount Olympus and was used in several missions to defeat evil monsters throughout several different myths. In honor of his great service, Zeus placed his constellation among the stars."

"Pegasus seems nice, I think it would be cool to fly." Virgil said.

"It probably would be." Logan said.

"Then there are the two fish Pisces," Logan said as he pointed to their constellation. " One day as Aphrodite and  
her son Eros , also known as Cupid, were in the woods and heard the monster  
Typhon crashing through the threes towards them. The two of them ran away as fast as they could before finally reaching the shores of the Great Sea. Knowing that the terrible Typhon would soon be upon them, Aphrodite and Eros changed themselves into two fish and swam away to safety." He said.

"Zeus later immortalized this great escape by placing the figures of the two fish, Pisces, among the constellations. But some other stories say that Poseidon sent two fish to save Aphrodite and Eros, and these were the two fish that became Pisces."

"I like the idea that he sent fish to save them," Virgil said with a smile and a small yawn.

"One more Alright, then we should head back down." Logan said softly.

"Already?" Virgil poured.

"Yes, you're getting sleepy, and we can't sit on the roof.

"Can I have a kiss before you start?" He asked.

"I suppose." Logan said with a fond smile, before allowing Virgil to straddle him.

Virgil hummed as he leaned down and captured Logan's lips in a sweet kiss, gently threading his fingers into Logan's hair.

Logan kissed him back and looped his arms around Virgil's shoulders before gently prodding at the seam of Virgil's lips.

Virgil eagerly opened his mouth and allowed Logan to slip his tongue inside, humming again as he pressed himself closer to Logan and closed his eyes.

Logan curled and rolled his tongue against Virgil's, drawing out a few small gasps and almost a small moan from his boyfriend, while also exploring around his mouth teasingly.

Virgil eventually pulled away, gasping softly for breath as he opened his eyes to look down at Logan, who smiled up at him.

"I love you," He said as he leaned down and began to kiss and suck at a spot on Logan neck, earning a small groan from him as Logan tilted his head to the side.

"I love you too." Logan said as he gently massaged Virgil's shoulders, smiling as he felt Virgil shiver slightly from the feeling. "But lets take a small break okay? We can continue this when we're back in my room." He said.

Virgil pouted but moved off of Logan anyways, curling up against his side again, "Alright," he said, "what's the last story?"

"Don't worry it's short," Logan said with a small smile. "That is the constellation Aquarius." He said as he pointed to a spot in the sky.

"Ganymede was an extremely handsome young man, the most handsome the gods had ever seen." He began, "One day, while attending to his father's flocks on Mount Ida, Ganymede caught the attention of Zeus. Zeus then sent his messenger eagle, Aquila, down to earth with instructions to bring Ganymede back up to Mount Olympus."

"On Mount Olympus, Ganymede served the gods by bringing them water whenever they needed it. He also served as cup bearer to Zeus. He was honored for his service by Zeus, who placed a constellation called Aquarius, which means water carrier, up in the stars."

"So they kidnapped him so they could make him bring them water, just cause he was really handsome?" Virgil asked as he and Logan sat up. "That is the stupidest reason to kidnap someone I've ever heard." He said.

"Oh there are several other myths with pointless kidnappings," Logan said with a smile, "I'll tell you them sometime." 

The two of them then carefully climbed off the roof and back down to Logan's room, where they immediately curled up in bed again.

"More kisses now?" Virgil asked as Logan straddled his hips.

"Yes, if you're still comfortable with it, I would personally enjoy more kisses." Logan said as he smiled at him."

Virgil smiled back. "Yes please." He said, before pulling Logan down into another kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And ta-da  
Another chapter.
> 
> The next one should be out soon!!  
Hopefully yalls like this chapter!!
> 
> Feel free to comment your opinions or any requests you may have!!
> 
> Bye!!


	59. Chapter 46

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: 'Virgil getting kidnapped'
> 
> Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!  
I’m so sorrryyyyyy!!  
This took forever!!!  
It was supposed to be out a long time ago, I swear!
> 
> The prompt is very to the point. So I took creative license in the making of this chapter.  
Anywho, there'll be violence,  
A bit of drugging,  
And not to comfy positions and handling and all that jazz.
> 
> Oh, cursing as well.
> 
> And lots of worry and panic too.
> 
> Oh,  
And Thomas and Remy play a big part in this chapter.  
Hopefully yalls like it!!!  
It's gunna be very cringy.

A soft knock on Virgil's door prompted him to quickly finish changing into his pajamas before sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Come in." He said as he pulled a comb through his hair, getting out the tangles from the day.

His door opened and a servant stepped into the room with a large mug in his hands.

"Here is the tea you requested, your highness." The servant said, as he set the mug down on the bedside table. "Chamomile, and I'd suggest drinking it while it's still warm." He added.

"Thank you.... I'm sorry I don't know you name." Virgil said with an apologetic smile.

"White," the guard said, "John White."

"Well thank you Mr.White." Virgil said, "hopefully I'll get to sleep at a reasonable time tonight."

"I'm sure it won't be a problem tonight." john said, before bowing and leaving Virgil's room.

Virgil quickly continued getting ready for bed, drinking his tea while it was still warm, before heading off to the bathroom to finish up.

He brushed his teeth and drained the water from the bath he'd taken earlier before leaving the bathroom and moving around the room to turn off the lights.

As he turned to his bed to finally go to sleep he was struck with a bout of dizziness and quickly reached out to steady himself against the wall.  
Had he turned too fast? 

But the dizziness didn't go away like it would have if he'd just turned, in fact it got worse, and Virgil found himself leaning heavily against the wall from his seat on the floor.  
When had he sat down?

He groaned softly as tried to push himself to stand up, but none of his limbs moved, except for a small twitch in his fingers. He blinked slowly, his eyelids feeling heavy. He felt like he should be panicking, or calling for help from the guards, but he was just calm. His tongue sad numbly in his mouth and all he found himself able to do was blink and lazily glance around. But that was okay, he actually felt kinda relaxed, and a bit fuzzy inside. It was nice, a bit concerning, but nice...

He glanced over when he heard the door open, and watched as a guard walked into the room. Maybe they'd be able to help him? Although he didn't know if he really wanted help -it felt like he was floating, and it wasn't that bad.

The guard knelt down in front of him and gently grabbed Virgil's chin, tilting his head from side to side and watching as it lolled limply.

"Ah, looks like it finally kicked in." The guard said with a smile, "bet you feel nice right now, your highness," he continued as he reached into a bag Virgil had realized he was carrying, "You just keep feeling nice and calm and let me do my work." He added, before pulling Virgil's mouth open and pushing a rag inside, which he then secured into Virgil's mouth with a rope he tied around his head. Then he tied Virgil's wrists together, followed by his knees and ankles.

Virgil felt like he should be protesting, or struggling, or something- but just couldn't work up the strength to do it. He just watched the man with half-lidded eyes. He felt too calm, too relaxed to even move.

"Ah Jonny, got our ride?" The guard asked as he stood up and turned to look at the other side of the room.

Virgil glanced over and saw the servant from earlier with one of the large laundry basket carts next to him.

"Yup, where's your guard partner?" Jonny, or John, asked as he walked further into the room, closing the door behind him.

"Was sent to go get more tea for the prince," The guard said with a dismissive wave of his hand, "she'll be back in a few minutes, so we need to finish up here."

John nodded and moved to kneel next to Virgil while the guard got up.

"I know your still floating in there somewhere, your highness," The man said with a smirk, "you'll get us a pretty penny from your parents to get you back." He said as he looked into Virgil's hazy eyes, before laughing when Virgil didn't respond with anything but a slow blink.

"Yeah he's pretty drugged up," The guard said from where he'd been taking sheets out of the laundry basket. "Makes it much easier for us to transport him though." He added as he walked back over to them.

"True," John said, "now help me get him up and into the basket."

The two scooped Virgil up, the guard holding him from his armpits, while John help him from his shins and knees.

The hoisted him up and began to lower him into the basket, only to freeze when the door opened.

"Your highness I brought you some more-" the guard -a female Virgil duly noted- cut herself off when she saw the two men lowering Virgil's limp, gagged, and bound body into a laundry cart.

She dropped the tea, the cup shattering on the floor as she took an offensive stance. "What are you doing with the prince!" She demanded in a stern voice, "Put him down and get on the ground before I call back up."

In the blink of an eye the guard holding Virgil dropped him into the basket and dashed forwards to attack the guard, but Virgil couldn't see their fight, since John began to quickly pile the sheets on top of him, hiding him from any outside eyes.

He heard a couple of grunts and then the sound of someone collapsing. Then dragging and the slamming of a door.

"Okay, She should be out for a few hours at least, let's get out of here." The muffled voice of the guard said above him, and then the cart was moving.

Virgil didn't know how much time had passed, he'd zoned out after a bit, but the next thing he knew he was being taken out of the laundry cart.

He blinked a few times and noticed they were outside, and there was a carriage with a horse hitched to the front.

He was quickly put inside the carriage, and the guard, although Virgil wasn't really sure if he was a guard or not, followed him inside before closing the door.

He was laid out on one of the benches and his head lolled to the side as he sluggishly look around the carriage.

"Time for bed your highness," he said, and then Virgil felt a sharp pain, his eyes rolled back into his head and he slipped into darkness.

-

Patton sat on Virgil's bed, hugging one of his boyfriend's pillows to his chest. It had been three hours since everyone had realized Virgil was missing. They didn't know when he had gone missing, but that morning he had been nowhere to be found, and didn't turn up when guards were sent to look for him in the castle and around town.

Of course there was the possibility Virgil had snuck out again to go out into town on his own, but Patton, Logan and Roman couldn't think of any reasons why he would right now, and Virgil had told them that he would leave a note or something if he decided to do something like that again.

Roman was sitting on the bed next to him, a gentle arm draped across Patton's shoulders.

Logan was pacing in front of them, muttering to himself quietly. Patton didn't know what he was saying, but he'd heard Virgil's name a few times.

"I don't understand why we can't help look for him with the guards." Roman said, "it's not like we're less likely to find him."

"It's most likely because if Virgil is in trouble they'd rather have guards find him than us." Logan said, pausing from his muttering to cast a glance over at the two of them.

"But Patton and I have guard training, sure we're not fully trained or anything, but we can still fight." Roman defended with a huff.

"I know that, but the king and queen told us no, so we need to listen," Logan said, "Virgil's probably-"

Logan was cut off by the wardrobe bursting open and a guard tumbling out onto the floor in front of them with a small gasp.

Both Patton and Roman shot up from the bed and took fighting stances in front of Logan protectively, and watched as the guard quickly scrambled to her feet.

"T-the prince!" She said as she stood and looked around wildly before spotting the trio and quickly rushing over, "the prince was taken!"

-

Roman, Logan and Patton quickly took the still disoriented guard, who they found was named Jessie, to the queen and king.

She immediately dropped to a knee, and apologized for failing them.

"I am sorry your majesties for my inability to protect the prince, I was taken by surprise and over powered-" she was quickly cut off by the king standing up and walking to her.

"All is forgiven," The king said dismissively as he gestured for her to stand, "just tell us everything you know."

Jessie quickly began to spill the story of how her partner had told her to go collect more tea for the prince, who had apparently asked for some since he was having trouble sleeping.  
She said when she came back she had found her guard partner, a man named Alec, and a servant she didn't recognize putting a bound and potentially unconscious or at least incapacitated Virgil into a laundry cart.  
She then engaged in a fight with the other guard, and was knocked out and stuffed into the wardrobe.

The king and queen immediately doubled the guards searching, and sent a few trusted servants to go find the laundry cart and the cook that had made the tea for Jessie to check her story.

Both the laundry cart and the cook were located easily and Jessie's story was proven true so far.

"I want every trusted guard we have searching for him, if anyone does anything suspicious then report it to the Captain of the guard who was ordered to look into it discreetly.

"Your majesties," Roman began after they'd finished issuing their orders to the staff, "may we please help with the search?" He asked, "Virgil means so much to us, I- we can't just sit here and do nothing." He said as he looked at them pleadingly.

The king and queen glanced at each other, and seemed to have a silent conversation for several seconds, before turning to look back at the trio.

The king opened his mouth, only to be interrupted before evening starting by the door bursting open.

"I apologize for the abrupt intrusion your majesties," a guard said as he dropped down into a kneel. "But we have news on the prince."

The guard quickly pulled out a sheet of paper, "we found this nailed to the wall in the stables."

"Read it." The queen said, all though it was more of a command, her tone serious and giving no room for objection.

" 'King and Queen. You have most likely noticed the lack of presence your son has in the castle.  
We have taken him and if you do not provide us with a ship and a third of the castles riches you will never see him again.  
I won't promise no harm will come to him, he'll be punished if he disobeys, but hurt is better than dead, don't you think?  
You have two days to complete our demands or we'll off him'." The guard read, before looking up at them, "It isn't signed." He added.

"Was there anything else that could lead us to where he was taken?" The queen asked.

"We round an unconscious staff member locked in a supply closet in the stables, but nothing other than that." The guard said as he shook his head.

The king nodded, "continue your searches then," he said, "and tell us if the staff member has any knowledge about what happen when they wake up." He added.

The guard nodded and got up to bow one last time before quickly leaving the room.

The king and queen turned to look at the trio now, and they all stood quietly, waiting for their decision.

"You may join the search," The king began, "I know you'd eventually go looking for him even if we told you no, but just remember that if you find anything it's better to tell us and get back-up before doing anything on your own." He said as he gave them a stern look.

The three of them quickly nodded and thanked them for allowing them to help before hurrying off to get started.

They decided to go look around the stables where the guard had said they'd found the message.  
There were a few guards there when they arrived, two of them sitting with a disoriented Bailey.

"Are you okay?" Patton asked, his voice soft as he kneeled in front of them.

Bailey opened their eyes and tilted their head up to looked at Patton, wincing lightly, "just a bit dizzy, and a small headache." They admitted. "But nothing too bad." They added.

"Well I'm glad you're okay," Patton said, giving them a kind smile. "Can you tell us what happened?"

Bailey nodded. "Last night I was finishing up cleaning the stables, and had stopped to give Maple, one of the horses, a few treats and a bit of brushing since she'd done so well yesterday." They began, "then two guys, a guard and a servant, went to the loading side -where they keep the carriages they hitch the horses to. They had once of the laundry carts with them, I had walked over to try and ask them what they were doing, but then the guard saw me and just charged and... and... wait let me think- it's a bit fuzzy..." they admitted as their face scrunched up.

"Don't try to force it, it's okay if you don't remember." Roman said as he knelt next to them. The two guards had left to go inform the king and queen that bailey had woken up.

"No no I think I do," bailey said reassuringly, "he -the guard, charged me, and I think he bashed my head against one of the wooden support-beams, I think he did it a few times? I can't quite remember -I was pretty dazed after the first hit." They admitted, "I think he shoved me into the supply closet and locked it then, but I don't remember even hitting the ground, it's all nothing after that until I woke up a few minutes ago." They finished.

"I'm so sorry you got hurt," Patton said, "Can I give you a hug?" He asked.

Bailey gave him a small smile. "I'd like that." They said.

Patton quickly pulled them into a comforting yet gentle hug, and smiled when bailey leaned into it.

"I think I heard a bit of screeching too? But not human, something else." Bailey added with a shrug. "I don't know what."

"What animals were in the stable at the time?" Logan asked.

"Just the horses, our new mother goat Sally and her two kids -but the screeching didn't sound anything like them." Bailey said as they pulled away from Patton's hug.

"Thank you for telling us," Roman said, "but you should probably head to the infirmary to get your head checked out." He said.

"Yeah I probably should." Bailey said, and smiled when Parton quickly helped them stand up.

"Do you want one of us to go with you?" Patton asked.

"No, you three keep trying to find the prince, I'm sure one of the guards can take me, or I can take myself." They said as they gave the trio a smile, before moving to a group of guards not too far away.

"Okay, let's start looking for anything that could lead to were they are, or anything at all really." Roman said.

"Well, I doubt we'll find anything on where they are," Logan began, "but we could try to find tracks to see were they went." He suggested. "I doubt they took the main roads."

The three of them quickly split up and began to try and find any form of carriage tracks that were remotely fresh.

That is until they were interrupted by a tired and pissed off raven.

"So you're saying he just hopped up to you?" Logan asked as he looked at the raven cradled in Patton's arms.

"Yeah, his wing is all busted so I don't think he can fly." Patton said as he gently scratched the top of Remy's head.

Logan hummed softly. "His wing looks broken, we should probably take him to Molly." He said, before something caught his eye.

Clutched tightly in the Ravens foot was a scrap of silky lavender fabric. It was a bit dirty from the probably being dragged on the ground, but they could still tell the color.

He carefully pulled the fabric from the Remy's foot, and turned the cloth over in his hands.

"...that's the color of Virgil's pajama shirt right?" Roman said, his voice soft as he looked at the fabric.

"You don't think..." Patton trailed off as he looked up at the two of them in realization.

Roman suddenly smacked his palm into his forehead. "Guys we are so stupid." He said. "Finding Virgil is easy."

-several hours before-

How curious. A new shiny man in the stables.  
And with a basket, how big how large. What could be inside?  
Shiny?  
Going into the box perhaps?  
Oooh another person, and it's not shiny!  
How curious how curious.  
Ooooh is that my boy?  
That doesn't look comfortable...my boy knows better than this.  
What they doing with my boy? That's my boy, fuck you.  
Why my boy covered in ropes??  
The fuck they done-doing with my boy???  
Inside the box??  
Not my boy, fucking nope.  
Where they going?  
Gotta follow the box.  
Follow the box.  
Follow my boy.  
-  
Hey that's my boy.  
You can't bring him in there. Fuck.  
He's mine, my shiny boy. Not yours.  
Get away from my boy. He's mine.  
Excuse you! Who the fuck you think you swinging at? That's my boy, m i n e.  
My boy you fuc-  
-  
...  
Where's my boy?  
Where the fuck they take my boy?  
Ow...  
Nope.  
Can't do that no more.  
Looks like I gotta walk.  
Fuck that man.  
Fuck him and the shiny suit man.  
They took my boy, my boy.  
He's my boy and they can't have my boy.  
I gotta go to those other guys, my boys' boys.  
They can get my boy.  
Just gotta keep hopping.  
Fuck pain.  
Wait no.  
Can't fuck pain.  
Pain wins.  
Hopping it is.  
Just hop.  
Get my boys' boys.

-present time-

Virgil groaned softly as he slowly opened his eyes. What happened? Did the tea work?? He felt really tired and kinda numb.

He blinked his eyes a couple of times, and looked around the room he was in. It was cold, the walls dark and barren from anything except for a few shelves, and there was only a lamp in the corner, that provided a soft transparent glow across the room. There were no windows, no furniture, only a few stacks of boxes in some corners and a single door off to the side. This isn't his room? What? How did he get here?

Virgil tried to move, but found his limbs bound tightly by sturdy ropes that held him to a chair. Then his mouth registered the cloth and rope that was stuffed between his teeth as a gag, and he made a small muffled sound of surprise.

A shot of panic went through him and he quickly began to try and wiggle out of the ropes, but his body was still a bit sluggish for some reason, and wasn't responding well.

"Ah, I was wondering when you'd wake up." A voice said from the other side of the room. "I was worried we'd given you too heavy of a dose the first time."

A man with dark brown hair and olive skin sat on a chair across the room from him, dressed in the servants uniform from the castle. He looked familiar, but Virgil couldn't quite put his finger on how.

"I'm sure you're confused," The man continued as he stood up and began to walk across the room to Virgil, "the drug has an effect on your memory, so you probably don't remember much from after you drank your tea and continued getting ready for bed." He said, and Virgil's breathing quickened a bit as the man stopped directly in front of him.

"Sadly you probably won't be remembering any of this, I have to give you another dose to keep you nice and compliant." He said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small vile full of pills, "not that I think you'd be much trouble as you are, but I'd just rather not take any chances." He said as he reached forwards and began to untie the gag. "You'd better not say a word when this is off, or you'll be in trouble." The man said, before pulling the gag out of Virgil's mouth.

Virgil didn't say anything, just took a sharp shaking gasp of air, since his panicked breathing through his nose hadn't really given his body much oxygen and his lungs were eager for the air, despite it been dusty and stale.

"This would be enough to keep you out for the rest of the day," The man said as he took out a few of the pills, "they'll kick in in a few minutes, but you'll actually pass out maybe ten minutes after that, since this a stronger dose than the one you took earlier," he explained, before reaching up and forcing his thumb into Virgil's mouth, who instinctively tried to pull away and spit his finger out.

But the man quickly tightened his grip and forced Virgil's mouth open, "swallow these like the good prince you are." He said, before pushing the pills into Virgil's mouth and forcing his mouth closed, covering it as well so that Virgil couldn't spit them out.

But Virgil tried to shimmy away to spit them out, not wanting to take them.

The man just sighed and moved his other hand up to pinch Virgil's nose closed. "If you don't swallow them then I'll let you suffocate." He said, his voice steady.

The burn in his lungs started several seconds later, his mind being consumed by more and more panic and begging for more air as he struggled a bit more before stopping and forcing himself to sit still.

But the man didn't move his hands and just cocked an eyebrow at him.

Virgil quickly caught on and reluctantly swallowed the pills.

"Did you swallow?"

Virgil nodded as best he could in his tight hold.

"All of them?" Another nod.

Only them did he move his hands away and let Virgil suck in a releasing breath. Letting him pant for a couple of seconds before forcing the gag back into his mouth.

"Now I might as well explain what's happening before you drift off." The man said as he moved to sit back in his chair, leaving Virgil to stare after him.

"Basically me and my brother want money, and who has more money than the royal family? I'm sure you have some to spare," The man began. "My brother infiltrated the guard just a month after your return home, and I only went in a few days ago." He continued. "We've been waiting for the right time, and decided that this was the best time to take action."

"In order for you to return safely, your parents will need to abide to our demands before our deadline, if not than we'll either off you or sell you to the highest bidder at the ports or over seas." He said with a smirk that made Virgil shudder. "Let's hope, for your sake, that they listen."

-

"You think this'll work?" Patton asked as he glanced over at Logan and Roman.

"He was able to track us down pretty well, I don't see why he wouldn't be able to track down Virgil." Roman said with a shrug, before walking towards the horse.

It had taken a while to find him, since he hadn't been in the stable at the time, and since they'd needed to take Remy to Molly to fix his wing.

"Hey Thomas," Roman began, "I'm sure you've heard of Virgil's kidnapping." He said.

Thomas turned and gave Roman a look, and if horses had eyebrows then one of them would have probably been cocked.

"Well we got this," He continued as he held up the scrap of fabric, "think you can track him down for us?" He asked.

Thomas stepped forwards and sniffed at the fabric for a few seconds, before pulling back with a determined look and nodding.

A grin split across Romans face and he turned to Logan and Patton, who were both smiling and looked relieved.

"You can carry us all at once right?" Roman asked as he turned back to Thomas, who nodded again.

The three of them quickly climbed onto Thomas's back, and set off, the horse sniffing at the ground and the air every now and then, following a trail only he could sense.

-

"Is this the place?" Roman asked, cocking an eyebrow.

It was a medium sized building at the edges of the kingdom near the docks. It was made out of sturdy stones, yet looked a little unkept and a bit empty.

Thomas made a small huff sound, and even though he couldn't see it, Roman was sure the horse had rolled his eyes.

"It's at least worth looking into." Logan said as he slid off of Thomas's back before also helping Patton off.

The three of them moved to try and find a place to look inside, but all the windows were covered by curtains or boarded up.

"We have to find a way inside that isn't the front door," Roman said, "it's too dangerous."

"Shouldn't we call in some of the guards to come help as well?" Patton said, "like the king told us to?"

"I don't want to wait for them to get here," Roman said, "but sending a message to them wouldn't hurt." He added, before turning to Thomas. "Think you could go get some guards?" He asked.

Thomas seemed reluctant, but nodded before quickly leaving to go back to the castle.

"Okay, now we break in and start looking around?"

The three of them soon found an unlocked window that was big enough for them to fit through, and slipped inside the building.

It was fairly empty, with only a few bits of furniture and such, but Logan pointed out the lack of dust that there should have been in the supposedly abandoned house.

The quietly went about searching the rooms, trying to not make a lot of noise as they searched for anything useful or that would prove that Virgil was, or had been, there.

"Guys!" Patton whisper yelled, "I found something."

Tucked on one of the shelves inside a hall closet was a set of neatly folded and stacked golden armor, the iconic gold and sun engraved designs that screamed it to be Coronian armor from the royal guard.

"Well, I'm sure we can assume that the people who took Virgil have been here," Logan said, "one of them was posing as a guard if I can recall correctly."

"But where are they now?" Roman asked, "this is where Virgil's scent lead Thomas, so he has to be here somewhere right?"

"Maybe..." Logan trailed off as he began to chew on his lip thoughtfully, trying to think of an answer.

"Oh! Maybe there's a secret room or something!" Patton suggested, "hidden in the walls or something like that."

"I don't know about a secret room," Logan said, "but a cellar or basement wouldn't be too far fetched for a house like this..."

"Or the attic," Roman chimed in, "we could split up, two of us could look in one place and one in the other."

"Or we could split up entirely and have someone continue searching the main floor." Logan suggested.

"I think we have the main floor covered," Roman said, "and please don't be offended or anything, but Patton and I have combat training and I'd feel more comfortable if one of us was with you." He admitted sheepishly.

Logan sighed softly, "I guess I can't fault you for that." He said, "fine I suppose, Patton and I can check the attic while you check the basement? But if you find anything don't engage on your own."

"As long as you guys don't either." Roman said, before moving to press quick kisses to each of their cheeks. "Be safe." He added

"You be safe too," Patton said as he gave Roman a kiss on the cheek in return.

The three of them split up again after that, with Patton and Logan heading to the small stairwell that lead up to the attic, while Roman move to the small trapdoor that lead down to the basement/cellar.

Roman opened the door as quietly as he could, before peering down inside.  
A rickety set of stairs went down a couple of yards until they hit stone floor, which spread out and into the shadows that engulfed most of the area bellow.

He couldn't see anything or hear anything that would hint to people being down there, but he decided to still go down anyways, not wanting to look anything over that could be important.

He carefully creeped down the stairs, trying to avoid the spots that looked like they'd creek loudly on his way down, a small relived sigh slipping from his lips when he finally got onto the ground.

He could see the area a bit better now that he was actually inside of it and not above.

The walls were lined with dusty crates and shelves, and a small hallway lead off into the darkness on one side of the room.

He moved towards the hallway, and saw a large wooden door at the end, cracked open with a faint beam of light peeking out.

He quietly moved down the hall, making sure to watch his step while also keeping his eyes and ears open and sharp, looking and listening for anything.

He stopped in front of the door and positioned himself so he could look into the room through the crack in the door, peering inside.

Around the walls of the room were boxes and crates, a few shelves, and a singular lamp in the corner, which was the only source of light in the room.

But what quickly drew his eye, was a singular chair towards the far wall of the room, where a person with short dark chocolate brown hair, fair skin, and lavender pajamas sat tied up and unconscious. Virgil.

He quickly scanned the room for anyone else, before opening the door and rushing inside to him, pausing for just a second before reaching forwards to check for a pulse, which he luckily found, before trying to wake him up.

"Virgil," he whispered loudly, only going as loud as he dared in case someone was actually there and hadn't noticed him yet, "Virgil, can you hear me?" He gently shook his shoulders, but the only response he got was Virgil's head lolling forwards.

Changing plans, Roman began to untie his bindings, which was a bit difficult, it was some pretty good knot work.   
He'd managed to get his arms and chest free when he heard footsteps behind him.

He quickly whirled around and took a defensive stance, only to relax when he saw that it was Logan and Patton.

"Oh my goodness you found him!" Patton whisper yelled as he quickly rushed over and cupped Virgil's face, who's lips were red and slightly swollen, and who's cheeks had little indents and were red from the rope gag. "Is he okay? Has he woken up at all?" He quickly asked.

"No he hasn't woken up at all yet, and I was working in untying him so I could check over him for injuries." Roman said as he gestured to the small pile of ropes next to the chair.

"You two go look around for anything that could help us, I'll continue to untie him." Logan said as he stepped closer. "I'll be able to identify his injuries much faster as well."

Both Patton and Roman nodded, and the former pressed a kiss to Virgil's forehead before leaving to go look around with Roman.

Logan knelt down and worked on untying Virgil's legs from the chair. They were tied at his thighs, his shins, and his ankles, so it would take a while, especially since the knots were much tighter and complex than Logan had expected.

He managed to get them all untied though, but ended up freezing before he could call to the others that he was done.

Someone was coming. He could hear the footsteps coming down the creaky set of stairs, and it sounded like more then one person.

He moved to look at Roman and Patton, who were also frozen, so he assumed they had heard the footsteps as well.

He locked eyes with Roman, who nodded towards Virgil, and Logan quickly nodded back.

If the people were a threat, then Roman and Patton could deal with them while Logan kept Virgil safe. He felt a bit useless being unable to help with the fight, but quickly pushed that feeling away by telling himself that keeping Virgil safe was more important than helping with the fight.

He quickly picked Virgil up bridal style, holding him close as he turned to face the door, both Patton and Roman shifting to stand in front of them.

The door slowly creaked open, and there stood two men. One was slightly shorter than the other, with a pair of thin glasses, and short dark brown hair with a couple grey strands, olive skin, and a scruffy beard. The other had slightly longer dark brown hair that went to his jaw line and had more grey strands, and had a scruffy but slightly longer beard as well.

"What a surprise." The shorter one began, "we weren't expecting guests today." He said as he eyed them carefully, the light flickering across his glasses. "Although guests should stay in the main room instead of snooping around." He added.

"Its a good thing we were just leaving then," Roman said as he took a step to cover more of Logan and Virgil.

"Well, it would be rude of us to not provide our guests with a little hospitality before they left, don't you think?" The man said as he turned to glance up at the other man.

"Yeah, it would be pretty rude of us not to." The other man said with a smirk as he stepped forward.

Both Roman and Patton took defensive positions, taking a step back closer to where Logan and Virgil were.

"Keep him safe." Roman said, before moving to intercept the taller man as he rushed forwards, while Patton when to deal with the man with the glasses.

Logan cradled Virgil against his chest, holding him tightly as he quickly moved the two of them away from the fighting.

Virgil still wasn't responding, but he was still breathing and his heart was still beating so Logan tried to push his worry away for now and think rationally.

Thomas would be back with more guards soon, so if they could just stand their ground for a bit longer, then they should be fine for when backup arrives. But, there wasn't any guarantee that Roman and Patton would be able to last however long it took for them to get here.

He carried Virgil over to the farthest corner of the room, and gently set him down after ducking behind a couple of boxes before beginning to give him a thorough check over for any obvious injuries. He wouldn't be able to do much to help with them at the moment, but it would give him a better understanding of his condition.

He found several bruises, a few scrapes and bits of rope burn, and the skin on his wrists was torn away a bit, but not bleeding.

He still wasn't responding though, which was concerning, but he hoped it didn't mean anything too bad.

He jumped slightly and quickly moved in front of Virgil when someone was shoved against the boxes the two of them were hiding behind with a sharp bang, the person grunting before getting up and getting back into the fight.

Logan's attention was quickly pulled away by the sound of heavy footsteps rushing towards them from down the hall, accompanied by the clanging of metal and yelling.

He heard the door burst open, followed by more shouting, and then what sounded like more fighting, followed by several orders to 'restrain them' and to 'take them into custody', it wasn't until Roman came around the edge of the boxes with a smile that Logan got up to see what exactly had happened.

Both Patton and Roman had several bruises and a few cuts, but the two men from earlier had it off much worse than the two of them injury wise, not that Logan cared.

Said men were bound by ropes and being held by a few guards, and one of which who wasn't holding onto the men stepped forwards towards him.

"We must get his highness back to the castle and the infirmary at once." The guard said, quickly leading them out of the room and back down the hall.

"Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be up and healing as soon as we get him back to the castle." He added.

-

Virgil groaned softly as he slowly blinked his eyes open, before immediately shutting them due to the bright light that burned them.

He eventually peeled them back open, carefully this time. His vision swam a little bit, but he assume it was from just waking up, sometimes that happened.

“Virgil!” Someone exclaimed from next to him, and he slowly turned his head to where the voice had come from, and saw three people at his bedside. Two of them were still sleeping, but one was wide awake, and quickly jumped out of his chair, jostling the other two and waking them.

“Virgil, oh my goodness you’re awake!” The person said as he quickly picked up one of his hands and squeezed it tightly.

“Patton?” Virgil muttered softly as he looked up at him.

Both Logan and Roman, now wide awake, quickly moved to the edge of the bed, relief painted across their faces.

“Hey Virgil.” Patton said with a fond smile on his face, “how are you feeling?” He asked.

Virgil blinked up at him, before registering a hand on his cheek, and he glanced over to see Roman there, “tired.” He said softly as he leaned into the touch.

“You’ve been asleep for a while, so that’s not surprising.” Logan said softly, “are you feeling sick? Disoriented? Or dizzy? Anything like that?” He asked.

“Hmm, the second one.” Virgil said as he closed his eyes again and nuzzled into Romans palm lazily.

“Disoriented?” Logan asked, and Virgil nodded in response. “Can you tell me how so?”

“Confused,” Virgil said as he opened an eye to look up at him, “what happened?” He asked.

He watched as Logan and Patton glanced at each other, before looking back at him.

“Can you tell us what you remember?” Logan asked, “then we can fill in the blanks.”

“Remember?” Virgil asked, his face scrunching up in concentration. “I...don’t know,” he said slowly, “I remember getting ready for bed? And I had a cup of tea, chamomile I think? To help me sleep,” he explained, “but...I can’t.....nothing after that, until waking up now.” He admitted with a frown, before trying to sit up, Roman quickly moving to help him, carefully propping him up on pillows. “Something happened though, right?” He asked as he shifted slightly and looked at them.

Logan sighed softly before nodding.

“The castle was apparently infiltrated by two men, John and Alec White, a month before your return, and they recently decided to set their focus on you instead of your parents.” Logan began, “so they drugged your tea that night and took you while everyone was asleep, or knocked out anyone that crossed their path,” he continued, “we can probably assume that your lack of memory is either because of the drug, or because you were unconscious for all of it.” He added.

“Why’d they take me?” Virgil asked.

“They were holding you for ransom,” Roman said as he gently ran his fingers through Virgil’s hair, “they wanted money and if your parents didn’t give it to them they said they’d either kill you are sell you.” He continued with a frown.

“They didn’t give them the money did they?” Virgil asked with a worried frown.

“No, we found you and rescued you, but the money was our last resort plan.” Logan said as Patton moved to sit on the bed next to Virgil.

“Oh good,” Virgil said with a relieved sigh, “sorry for worrying you guys.” He added.

“Hey it’s not your fault,” Roman said, “so don’t apologize.”

Virgil hummed softly, “Okay,” he said with a small yawn.

“Don’t go back to sleep yet,” Logan said, “the doctors wanted us to get them when you woke up so they could accurately assess your condition.” He added.

Virgil frowned but nodded, “Can I sleep after?” He asked.

“If the doctors tell you that you can, then yes.” Logan said with a nod, “I’ll go get them.” He added, before pressing a kiss to All three of their foreheads and leaving the room.

Turns out that Virgil was pretty okay, with only minor injuries. The doctors assumed his lack of memory from the event was from whatever they used to drug him, and warned him that those lost memories, if there even were any, may return in the next few weeks or even months, most likely in dreams. They also said that he might have some residing tiredness and sleepiness for a while, and that it was okay for him to sleep.

After he was fully looked over his parents came to talk with him, but they couldn’t stay long, so it was soon just the four of them left together in Virgil’s room.

They told him what all had exactly happened, or what they knew at least, and had comforted him about Remy, telling him that Molly had everything under control and had said he’d be fine and heal nicely.

After that they decided that they didn’t care if anyone came in, they just wanted to cuddle and be close to one another.

Virgil snuggled his way into Romans side, humming softly as he nuzzled his face into the crook of his neck, while smiling when he felt Patton’s arms wrap around his waist, and could feel Logans right hand and Romans left hand resting on his hip, linked together.

“I can sleep now, right?” He asked softly.

“Yes you can,” Logan said softly while Roman pressed a kiss to Virgil’s temple.

“We’ll be here when you wake up,” Patton said, “don’t worry about a thing.” He added as he held Virgil tighter.

Virgil hummed again and nodded, before snuggling closer to Roman and closing his eyes.

“I love you.” He said softly.

“Love you to.” Roman said, Patton and Logan quickly agreeing.

Someone pulled the blanket over than all, but Virgil didn’t know who since by then he was already half asleep and unaware to the world around him except for the arms that held him and the warmth that was all around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh dear gosh this was horrid.
> 
> A) I’m sorry it’s taken so long  
B) I’m sorry it’s shitty and cliche  
C) I’m sorry it’s so freaking long too
> 
> Hopefully it wasn’t to bad? I don’t really like it...
> 
> Anywho, the next chapter is done, and the one after that is easy to write, so I should have them out soon!!!
> 
> Again I’m so sorry it took so long!!!
> 
> Bye!!!


	60. Chapter 47

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: 'Roman and Logan's date at the lake'
> 
> This is in relation to chapter(s) 28 when Virgil went on little pair-dates with each of them and Roman mentioned having had date with Logan at the lake and said some semi-suggestive things.
> 
> Now you get to know what happened!
> 
> No they did not have sex, but there is much making out, some wandering hands, a bit of touching, and late night swimming.
> 
> Also, I hope you're ready for another shitty (pardon my language) song I wrote for Roman to sing to Logan. 
> 
> It is very bad, I do not like.
> 
> Although I do like more than last song I wrote.  
Hmm
> 
> Anywho  
Hope you like the chapter!

"Where exactly are we going?" Logan asked, cocking an eyebrow at Roman, who was walking beside him.

"I told you it's a surprise." Roman said with a grin.

"Does it have anything to do with why you disappeared yesterday?" Logan asked.

"Maybe." Roman said with a wink, before turning and walking off of the path. "Follow me."

"I am blaming you if we get lost." Logan said as he followed him.

"We're not going to get lost," Roman said as he walked through the grass and around some bushes. "I promise I know where I'm going." He added as he reached to hold Logan's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

He led Logan down a path that only Roman could see, until they ended up in a small clearing where a tent was set up, along with a ring of stones and a pile of wood.

"You're taking me camping?" Logan asked as Roman pulled him towards the tent.

"Yup!" Roman said with a bright smile. "You can see the stars way better out here than you can at the castle, and there's a lake not even five minutes from here, and at night it's like a mirror and reflects the moon and stars perfectly." He explained. "I though maybe we could spend a day or two out here together, maybe swim in the lake at night." He added.

"Swimming at night is dangerous," Logan said, and he watched as Romans smile faltered a little, "but I suppose I'll have you there to protect me." He added, giving Roman a small smirk.

Romans face lit up as he beamed at longan, "of course I will," he said, "I'll protect you from anything, even dragons and witches."

"I'll keep that in mind next time I run into a witch and her dragon." Logan said with a small laugh.

The two of them quickly made themselves comfortable. Apparently Roman had taken bags of supplies when he'd left to set the tent up yesterday, and had only taken the food with him today so that animals didn't get into it. The tent was cozy, piled high with fluffy blankets and over stuffed pillows, so they could be warm and comfortable at night when it got colder. He'd also managed to pack spare clothes, and Logan didn't want to know when Roman had gone into his room to get his clothes without him noticing.

They had arrived there during the late afternoon, so by the time they'd settled in the sun was already starting to set and they were making dinner.

"Pass me the garlic please." Logan said. They'd set up a metal tripod stand over the fire, where they then hung a medium sized iron cauldron. Inside said cauldron was the not-yet-finished stew they were making, chuck full of chopped potatoes, carrots, beans, and tomatoes, shredded chicken that had been pre-cooked and separately seasoned, and various spices and more seasonings. The broth was rich and savory, and the dish in its entirety smelled delicious.

Roman passed him the garlic, which had been dried and ground into a fine powder.

"It's just about done." Logan added as he sprinkled some of the garlic into the pot before stirring it in.

"Can I have a taste?" Roman asked with a smile as he leaned against Logan's shoulder.

Logan nodded and scooped up a bite of the stew, before bringing the spoon to Romans mouth, who eagerly took the bite. Roman hummed softly and leaned heavier against Logan's shoulder as Logan moved to stir the stew again.

"Geez you might be a better cook than Patton." Roman said with a smile as he pressed a kiss to the exposed skin of Logan neck.

"I genuinely doubt that," Logan said, "seeing as I learned this recipe from him and I don't have all the same ingredients."

"We need to ask him to make this then." Roman said, "cause I don't believe you and I need proof."

Logan chuckled softly and rolled his eyes before moving to grab their two bowls and spoons. "Will you grab the bread?" He asked.

Roman nodded and quickly got up to grab the round loaf of bread they'd brought with them, tearing off two decently sized chunks before coming back.

Logan passed him his bowl of soup before accepting his piece of bread, and the two began to eat.

"When we're done we should go to the lake and swim for a bit." Roman said as he took a bite of his soup.

"We should probably wait a while before actually swimming, to let out stomachs settle," Logan said as he dipped his bread into the broth, "but after that I suppose we could." He said.

"How about we wait till it gets dark before going then? That way our stomachs can settle and we can see the reflection right away." Roman suggested.

Logan nodded, and gave him a small smile. "I like that idea."

The two of them soon finished their food and cleaned up their dishes and put the food away, before Roman dragged Logan back to the fire and practically pulled him into his lap to cuddle, moving him so that Logan was seated between Romans legs with Romans arms wrapped around his waist.

"What do you want to do while we wait?" Roman asked as he gently ran his hand up and down Logan's stomach. The sun was set lower on on the horizon, it's golden light peaking through the trees as it painted the sky orange and red.

"I'm open to ideas." Logan said as he relaxed back against Roman's chest, leaning his head into the crook of his shoulder.

"Is this okay?" Roman asked as he moved his head to press kisses to the part of Logan's neck where it melded into his shoulder.

Logan hummed softly and nodded slightly, "yes," he said, "this is nice."

Roman smiled and continued to press kisses up and down from his neck to his shoulder, while still gently moving his hands up and down Logan's torso.

He eventually latched onto a spot that he knew from experience to be rather sensitive for Logan, and was proven correct when a small moan slipped from Logan's mouth as Roman gently sucked at the spot.

Roman hummed softly in response and nipped at the skin as he continued to gently suck, slowly forming a nice red hickey.

He trailed his hands up and gently began to knead at his chest, around where his nipples where but not directly on them.

Logan hummed and leaned heavier against Roman as he tilted his head to the side, a blush working its way up and onto his face.

Roman eventually pulled off with a small pop sound, before moving onto the next spot, determined to make a constellation of hickeys across his neck and shoulder.

Logan was putty in his hands. He moved where Roman wanted him to, was relaxed and pliant, and let out a few small sweet moans and hums and gasps whenever Roman bit and sucked at his neck, or brushed his fingers across his nipples.

"Kiss me." Logan eventually said, his voice soft. His neck, shoulder, and even a few spots on his upper back and right shoulder blade were covered in small or large red and pink hickeys and teeth marks. His face was flushed bright red, and his nipples were a slightly darker pink than normal and a little bit more sensitive than usual.

Roman smiled and laughed softly as he let Logan move into a different position so that he was actually sitting in Romans lap, his legs on either side of Romans hips in a straddle as he faced him.

Logan cupped Romans face in his hands before pulling him into a kiss with a hum, shifting closer to him as Roman wrapped his arms around Logan's waist.

He eventually parted his lips and allowed Roman to slip his tongue inside his mouth, another soft hum escaping him as he moved to tangle his fingers in Romans hair.

They eventually pulled away and Roman pressed a few more kisses to the other side of Logan's neck, gently nipping at the skin.

"We'll should go soon, shouldn't we?" Logan said, sounding a little breathless. "It'll be too dark to see soon." He added.

"You're right," Roman said as he pulled away from Logan's neck with another small pop sound. "Let's put out the fire and set up a couple lanterns while it's still light out." He added.

Logan nodded and got off of Romans lap and the two of them quickly set up a few small glass lanterns that Roman had brought before putting their fire out.

"We'll leave this lantern here so we can see where camp is." Roman said as he set one of their lanterns on the stump that was near the fire pit, it glowing warmly in the ever growing darkness.

He then led Logan out of their camp and into the forest surrounding their little clearing.  
There was somewhat of a path that he seemed to be following, but it was fairly over grown and covered in roots that had both of them stumbling a few times.

They left another one of their lanterns at the point where they could no longer see the first one clearly, carefully hanging it off of a tree so that they could find their way back.

Logan could hear the sound of water gently lapping at the land not too far away, so he assumed they were getting close. He was proven right when Roman finally hung up their second to last lantern on a tree that was just at the edge of where the forest turned into beach.

"Aw I forgot to grab towels," Roman said with a pout.

"We can go back for them, there's plenty of time to swim." Logan said.

But Roman shook his head. "you can get in and get used to the water while I go grab them." He said. "I'll only be a minute or two." He added.

Logan nodded, and pressed a quick kiss to Romans temple before watching him walk back the path they'd come.

When he couldn't see him anymore in the darkness he turned to look back at the lake.

The water was black and rolled lazily towards and away from the beach, which was soft and cold in a soothing way, the pale gray sand speckled with small rocks and drift wood.

The moon hung low in the sky, just now creeping it's way up, and bathed everything in a cold pale light, and was paired with thousands upon thousands of glittering stars that arched across the sky. Both the moon and the stars were reflected farther out in the lake, but shined just as brightly as their original lights.

Logan slowly took his shirt off, and soon followed with his shoes and pants, setting everything in a small pile on a rock that was near the tree line.

He then began to walk into the water, shivering slightly as the cold water lapped and twisted around his ankles.

He slowly walked father out into the water, letting his body get used to the numbing yet refreshing chill of the dark water, until he was up to his waist and almost his ribs. The sand of the lake was clear of sticks, and only had a few large rocks that logan carefully avoided and walked around.

It was serene and peaceful, and Logan enjoyed the soft sounds of the always moving water and the night, looking up at the sky and watching as more stars slowly appeared in the sky as the night grew on.

He was broken out of his serenity by the quiet stroke of a guitar behind him, the sound drifting to his ears across the water and prompting him to turn around.

There was Roman, wearing nothing but his underwear, standing just a foot from the waters edge, with his guitar in hand. His eyes were closed, but he still managed to play his guitar as if his eyes were open and it was mid day.

"Oh how bright the stars are  
Oh how tall they all are  
Oh how far they all fall,  
Answering to your call."

His voice was soft as he gently sang along to the soothing cords his was playing, and Logan couldn't bring himself to look away as he stared at him in surprise.

"in the night when darkness will crawl, you'll be shining bright so they fall.   
My guiding light standing tall."

"Yes you might be berry blue, but that's just given me a clue, to why I started loving you.  
And if you're gunna go, 'least let me follow,  
cause your my shining star, and I'm drawn to you wherever you are."

His heart suddenly fluttered in his chest where it had previously been beating as normal, and a blush blossomed across his face before he began to walk towards Roman, who still stood just beyond the waters edge.

"Yes the day will soon come, and that may frighten some,  
But I know that you're here, standing by me so near, so that now there's nothing to fear when the night comes to raid, I know that you wont fade, you will come to my aid."

Roman had opened his eyes at that point, and was staring straight into Logan's eyes as he drew closer to him, only to smirk and walk father up the beach.

"Yes you might be berry blue, but that's just given me a clue, to why I started loving you.  
And if you're gunna go, 'least let me follow,   
cause your my shining star, and I'm drawn to you wherever you are."

Logan reached the spot where the water met the sand, and stopped for a seconds to stare at Roman, who had moved to sit on a log that was a few yards away from the water and a few yards in front of the tree line.

"But how is it so unclear, why you're always so near, chasing 'way all of my fears."

He watched a Roman took a slightly sober tone, and the smile he'd been singing with grew reminiscent as he closed his eyes again.

"How can you stand to be here, far from the sky that's so near, instead you're here with me with no tears."

Logan quickly walked out of the water now, and only stopped when he stood in front of Roman.

"I try so hard to understand why, but I just can't so why should I try..."

Roman looked at Logan now, and his smile grew happier again.

"Yes you might be berry blue, but that's just given me a clue, to why I started loving you.  
And if you're gunna go, 'least let me follow,   
cause your my shining star, and I'm drawn to you wherever you are."

"cause your my shining star, and I'm drawn to you wherever you are.  
wherever you are...." Roman finished singing and gently set his guitar down to lean against the log next to him.

"Roman." Logan said softly, for once at a loss of words as his heart beat frantically in his chest.

"I love you Logan." Roman said as he smiled at him, and laughed when Logan practically tackled him in a hug, knocking him back and off of the log and onto the sand.

"I love you too." Logan said as he looked down at Roman, before quickly capturing his mouth in a kiss that Roman eagerly responded to, snaking his arms up and around Logan's waist as Logan threaded his fingers into Romans hair.

The two didn't pull away until their lungs were burning for air, and even then Logan tucked his head into the crook of Romans neck and nuzzled against him as he muttered 'I love you' over and over along with several other terms of endearment, promoting roman to blush from embarrassment and smile sheepishly.

"Come on specs, we can't just lay in the sand all night." He eventually said as he gently rubbed his hand up and down Logan's spine, smiling when he felt Logan shiver. "Do you want to swim? Or do you want to go back to camp?"

"I'd like to swim with you," Logan said, "but I would also like to...ahem...to kiss you more." He admitted shyly.

Roman chuckled softly and nodded as he moved them so that they were siting and Logan was in his lap.

"I'm sure we could find some rock to lounge on in the water and kiss for a bit." He said with a smile. "But we shouldn't stay out too long, the water is pretty cold and sleep is important Mr.Stays-Awake-All-Night-Reading." Roman said with cocked eyebrow.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Logan said dismissively as he stood up from Romans lap, before helping Roman stand as well.

The two quickly went back into the water, and Roman shivered from the cold. Logan would have as well, but his body was still used to the temperature of the water from when he'd been in the lake before.

They did actually find a rock half submerged in the water that Roman eagerly pinned him against and quickly went about mirroring the already existing constellation of hickeys on the other side of Logan's neck and his other shoulder, pressing up against him and running his hands up and down Logan's sides, prompting him to arch into the touch due to how cold his fingers were as he moaned softly.

He slowly moved his constellation of hickeys down Logan's chest, until Roman had eventually pulled one of Logan's already perked up and hard nipples into his mouth, earning a louder moan from Logan.

Roman carefully slotted his knee between Logan's legs and gently pressed it up against his crotch, earning another moan from Logan, who also began to subconsciously roll his hips.

Roman couldn't help smirking as he nibbled at his nipple and twisted the other with his fingers, but not before moving Logan's wrists and pinning them both under one hand above him, his smirk widening when Logan leaned his head back with another moan.

He switched nipples, giving the other the same treatment as he moved his knee up a bit more, earning a groan from Logan who rolled his hips harder, grinding them down against his knee.

Roman didn't feel an erection though, from either him or Logan, so he assumed the cold water was keeping both of them at bay.

He eventually pulled back and looked at Logan, who looked back at him with half lidded eyes and his pupils blown wide.

"We should probably go back to camp." He said as he removed his knee from its spot between Logan's legs and let Logan's wrists go.

Logan, his face flushed red, readjusted his glasses as he nodded. "Yes we probably should." He said, still a bit breathless.

Roman gently took his hand and lead him back to the beach, where they dried off with the towels Roman had in fact actually brought, and got dressed before heading back down the path, picking up their lanterns as they went.

After they got back they put the lanterns out and crawled into their tent, quickly cuddling up to one another and bundling up in their blankets together to get warm after being in the cold water for so long.

"I love you." Roman said as he pressed his face to Logan's chest.

Logan hummed softly and wrapped his arms around Romans waist securely, "I love you too." He said as he pressed a kiss to his temple, "and the song you wrote was beautiful." He added with a smile.

Roman smiled and yawned sleepily as he tried to snuggle closer to Logan. "I'm glad you liked it." He said.

"I loved it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we go, another chapter done.
> 
> Hopefully yalls like it! I know it was cringy and I know the song was retched, but eh, it was better than the song he sang to Virgil.
> 
> The next chapter will be out soon!!
> 
> Feel free to comment your thoughts or requests!!
> 
> Bye!!


	61. Chapter 48

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: 'Something like a prequel, or life in the tower?'  
And   
'How Virgil and Remy met'
> 
> I hope yalls are ready. I took this as a chance to do a thing  
I hope yalls like this chapter!   
It might be a bit shorter, who knows.

Virgil wasn't happy.

Father had left several hours ago and wasn't going to be back until the day after tomorrow, but that was fine, father left all the time, but he always came back. No, what Virgil didn't like, was the raging storm outside the tower. He'd closed to little window door they had, and he'd closed all the curtains to ever window, so he couldn't see what was happening, but he could hear the harsh freezing rain as he pelted against the tower and the rest of the world around them, and the harsh winds shaking the trees, not to mention the-

-BANG-

-the thunder.

Virgil jumped with a yelp as another large wave of deafening thunder rolled across them.

Father had told him about thunder storms before, had told him about how little boys who went out of the house would get swept up by the wind and taken away, or drowned in the rain, or struck by lightning.

This thunderstorm must have meant some other little boy had left his house, and Virgil couldn't helping feeling sorry for him. The other boy should have stayed inside, where it was safe.

He saw a flash of lighting shine through the curtains, and quickly brought his hands up to cover his ears, knowing that thunder would-

-BANG-

-would soon follow lightning.

Maybe if he found some place to hide he'd be able to block out the sounds of the thunder...

He eyes the small table near by. If he covered it in blankets...

Another clang of thunder made him jump in surprise with another yelp, and he quickly ran up the stairs to his room, where he stripped his bed of sheets, blankets, and pillows, bundling everything up and hurriedly carrying it down stairs.

He paused after he dumped it all into the floor, biting his lip as he looked back up stairs.

Could he take father's as well? Surely he'd be fine with it...

...but maybe he wouldn't be, he didn't like Virgil going up into his room...

-BANG-

Virgil jumped and raced upstairs again, this time rushing into his father's room, where he also stripped the bed of all its sheets, blankets, and pillows, carrying them down as well. He'd just have to put everything away before father came back, but that would be fine, he had plenty of time.

He dropped everything down into the already existing pile, and quickly began to set up his fort under the table, draping the thickest blankets over the small table, and piling the thinner ones and the pillows underneath the table, trying his hardest to make it so that it would be nice and dark underneath it. It probably wouldn't block out all the noise, but hopefully it would at least be muffled.

He quickly finished his fort, and had tears pooling in his eyes at this point from all the noise, and quickly ducked under one of the blankets and into the fort, where he covered himself in blankets, sheets and pillows, clutching one of his father's mustard yellow pillows to his chest, but made sure not to get any tears or snot on it.

It was nice and dark inside the fort, and the feeling of all the pillows and sheets and blankets around and on top of him helped to ground him a little bit, which made him feel a bit better. It also managed to muffle some of the noise, so t wasn't as startling or terrifying.

Suddenly there was a loud wooden bang from out side his fort that made him jump, follow by the sound of rain biting the wooden floors.

Virgil sniffed and carefully poked his head out of his fort, and saw that the two wooden doors on the large window had burst open, probably from the wind, and the freezing Ran was now pouring inside and soaking the floor and rug.

He quickly crawled out of his fort and dashed forwards to try and get the doors closed, only for something small and black to fly through and crash to the ground with a loud squawk that made Virgil gasped and take several steps back.

The little mound shivered, and two black wings shot up and began to shake about, water flicking everywhere, before the thing shakily got to its feet.

Virgil stared at it with wide eyes as he trembled slightly. It was a bird of sorts, he knew that.he watched as it looked around, and eventually spot Virgil, it's gaze turning from curious to wary instantly.

Virgil gasped softly as it puffed its feathers up and let out a low growl, and quickly stumbled back a few steps before slipping and falling onto his bum.

This was one of the horrifying beasts father had told him about! One of them had gotten into the house!! What was he supposed to do? Father told him that birds pecked people's eyes out and eat your tongue, fingers and toes.

"H-hello Mr.bird," he stuttered out as he held his hands up in a non-threatening manner, "I-"

Virgil cut himself off as the bird let out a hiss, and he quickly froze and covered his face, deciding that he'd rather lose his toes and fingers instead of his eyes and tongue.

He stayed still, feeling the agonizingly slow seconds drag by as he waited for the bird to attack, but nothing happened.

After a minute or two he carefully peeked out between his fingers, and saw the bird just sitting there, staring at him. It's feathers weren't puffed anymore, and it's wary look had gone back to curious.

"You-"

-BANG-

Virgil cut himself off with a yelp, but couldn't help noticing that the bird jumped at the sound as well.

"Do...do you not l-like the storm too?" He asked quietly as he looked at the bird warily, who simply cocked in head in return.

Virgil bit his lip and glanced around nervously, before getting up and rushing over to the pair of doors that were still open, quickly forcing them closed and locked before moving to get some towels to clean up the water that had made a mess on the floor.

The bird stayed where it was, but it had turned to watch him, it's eyes curious.

"Um, p-please don't hurt me, Mr.Bird," Virgil said after he'd cleaned up the water.

What do birds eat? Do they only eat fingers and eyeballs? No, Virgil had seen birds out his window on the ground before, they ate plants and bugs too...he didn't have any bugs, but....

He quickly went to the kitchen, and got a small fish, which he quickly piled high with berries, before going back to where the bird was, taking a slow calming breath when he saw that the bird had moved to perch on top of the table Virgil had made into a fort.

"If...if you promise not to eat my eyes, o-or my fingers and toes, or my tongue, then I-I'll give you these." He said as he slowly walked over to the bird.

The bird cocked his head at him, before turning its gaze to the berries.

Virgil carefully set the dish down, and the bird let out a small churr sound, and quickly dove in happily, earning a small smile from Virgil, which quickly vanished after another bang of thunder, which also made the bird jump.

An idea popped into Virgil's head, and he only hesitated a few seconds, before picking up the small dish and lifting up the blankets to his fort, quickly ducking inside. He held the edge up, and began to coax the bird inside. 

"I-it's quieter in here," he said as he set the dish down, and picked up one of the berries, placing it just out side the fort. A second later the bird was there, gulping the berry down.

He quickly set another berry down this time just inside the fort, and watched as the bird hopped forwards and gulped that berry down too.

He did this a few more times, until the bird was at the dish of berries, and then he closed the fort, before relaxing back into his pillows and blankets.

The bird left when the storm stopped, flying away the second Virgil had opened the small doors again.

It wasn't until a week later he saw it again, perched on his windowsill on one f the days father wasn't home.

He set out another dish of berries, which the bird happily ate, before going about his own business, although he occasionally watched the bird anxiously, not knowing if it was going to lash out like his father said the beasts on the outside did.

But then the bird came again.

And again.

And again.

And not once did it ever act hostile or aggressive towards Virgil.

It always came when Virgil was home alone, and it always stayed to itself.

At least, it had always stayed to itself, until one sunny spring morning...

When it perched itself on the back of a chair to watch Virgil paint.

It had come inside. It had perched itself a few inches away from Virgil.

It also appeared to be a boy if he wasn't mistaken.

He didn't realize he'd stopped breathing until he gasped softly for air. He was frozen for only a few seconds, until he slowly began to paint again, feeling hyper aware of the bird peering over his shoulder.

Then it happened again.

And again.

And again.

Virgil had steadily grown comfortable with the bird, and one day, when he was feeling particularly lonely...

"You're a silly little bird aren't you." He said softly as he watched the bird hop around on the table in excitement. Virgil was bringing him a dish of berries again, as usual, and the bird was very pleased.

The bird ignored his comment, more focused on the berries, and dove in as soon as Virgil set the dish down, earning a small laugh from Virgil.

"Careful, you don't want to choke." He said as he moved to sit at the table, picking up his sketchbook.

The bird huffed and continued to eat his berries at the same pace.

Virgil shook his head with a small sigh, "fine, but if you choke it's your own fault."

Weeks turned to months

months turned into a year

And it wasn't until then that Virgil realized he'd begun to look forward to the birds visits. He never came when Deceit was there, or he hid when he was there and wasn't able to have fun with Virgil like normal.

"You know, I feel kinda bad just calling you 'bird' and such." He said one day as he gently stoked the birds feathers. "Maybe I'll find you a name, would you like that?"

The bird made a small chittering sound and Virgil smiled.

"Then I guess I look through my books for a name for you." He said.

It took several try's till they found the right one, Virgil having to go through every book he owned.

"Stanley?"

No

"Callum?"

No

"Jack?"

No

"Adam?"

No

"Riley?"

No

"Reginald?"

No

"Remington?"

...

"Is that a name you like?"

The bird clicked softly, bobbing his head from side to side.

"Uh, okay, how about Rem?"

Maybe....

"Remy?"

....

The bird paused before chittering softly, stomping one of his feet a little bit.

"You like that one?"

A vigorous nod.

Virgil smiled as he looked at the bird on the table in front of him.

"Alright then, my name is Virgil," he began.

"It's nice to meet you Remy."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, how was that?
> 
> Not the best chapter I've ever written, but eh.
> 
> Hopefully yalls liked it!!!!!
> 
> The next chapter will be out soon! (Hopefully)
> 
> Bye!!!


	62. Chapter 49

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: 'One of the boys take some quiet time to themselves in the garden since everyone else is already doing something on their own. They end up wandering off and finding a new shady spot to sit, so they do. Basically they end up falling asleep in this new garden/random location and nobody knows where they are? The other three go into some sort of panic or search until they (or a staff member) finds them asleep in the garden and call it off or something.'
> 
> This chapter shouldn't be too long, maybe 2000 or 3000 words or so, I don't know it's not written yet.
> 
> This will probably just be your run-of-the-mill chapter full of anxiety, fluff, and kisses.
> 
> Also, the food part (you'll understand what I mean when you get there) made me so freaking hungry. I hadn't eaten all day when I was writing that part (it was sometime in the evening) and I really wanted to make it cause it's very tasty in my opinion, but I don't have the stuff :(
> 
> Hopefully yalls like this chapter!!!

It was a rare cloudless day. The days were getting colder and shorter as the year neared its end, but there was still the occasional clear day. It wasn't warm, but the sky was clear and the sun was shining.

Logan had recently found a nice secluded spot away from the main gardens, a spot that he had yet to share with his boyfriends. It wasn't that he was hiding it, it was more so that the moment never arose to say he'd found the spot.

Lately he'd been coming to sit there and either read or work on his studies while the rest of his boyfriends were either training or having their own lessons. It was nice and quiet, and quite peaceful in all honesty. A perfect place to work if it wasn't too cold, cloudy, or raining.

The spot was under a small plum tree tucked into a far corner of the garden, surrounded by towering hedges and bushes of flowers, all of which were currently dead. And if course all the leaves in the tree had browned and fallen, but it was still a nice tree to sit under.

Although, maybe he should have mentioned the spot to someone...

"He...loga...yo...eed.....ake u.....gan?"

Logan groaned softly and reluctantly pried his eyes open, blinking slowly as he adjusted to the light. When had he fallen asleep?

"Hey Logan, you with me?" A voice said from next to him.

He turned his head and saw Bailey kneeling there, a concerned yet relieved look on their face.

"Bailey? Oh, yes I am awake now." Logan said as he adjusted his glasses and moved to sit up straight. "Am I in the way of your work here?" He asked.

"Oh, no you're not," bailey assured, "I was actually looking for you." They admitted.

"You were looking for me? May I ask why?" Logan asked as he cocked an eyebrow.

"Well, you got everyone into quite a stir when you couldn't be found during lunch," they said, "and that was a few hours ago, so people began to assume you'd been kidnapped like Virgil." They added.

"Oh," Logan said, feeling surprised, guilty, and a bit embarrassed, "I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused then," he continued, "I suppose we should head back to everyone." He said as he stood up, bailey standing up with him.

"Yeah, that's probably be good." They said with a smile.

The two of them quickly made their way out of the garden, and back into the castle, where they soon flagged down a guard, and told him to tell the queen and king to call of whatever searches they had, and explained what had happened.

Then bailey sent Logan up to his room, where his boyfriends apparently were, since the king and queen had told them to sit tight and stay safe in case it was a kidnapping.

He didn't bother knocking on the door, since it was his own room and such, but did hesitate for a second. He felt bad for worrying them, for making them think he'd been kidnapped. Obviously he hadn't meant to, but he still felt a twinge or guilt in his chest. Or that could just be hunger.

He opened the door and quietly stepped inside, the door clicking softly as he closed it behind him.

He'd barely opened his mouth before a body slammed into his, lanky arms wrapping around him tightly.

He looked down, eye wide from surprise, and saw Patton with his face pressed into Logan's chest and his arms constricting his waist.

"Oh thank goodness you're alright." Roman said as he and Virgil got up from their spots on the bed and walked over to him as Patton pulled him further into the room.

"Are you okay? You're not hurt anywhere are you?" Virgil asked as he and the other two quickly pulled Logan to sit on the bed. His eyes were red rimmed, and Logan could guess he'd been crying at some point, which only worsened his guilty feeling.

"I'm fine, I don't even have a scratch." He reassured as he gently cupped Virgil's cheek, giving him a small smile when Virgil leaned into the touch.

"Good." He heard him mumble, and he couldn't resist pressing a kiss to his forehead.

"Did something happen?" Patton asked, "You didn't show up for lunch, and then no one could find you." He said as he plastered himself to Logan's left side.

"Nothing happened I promise," Logan said as he wrapped a gently arm around Patton's waist.

"Then where were you? We looked for you everywhere." Roman said from his spot next to Paton, one of hands on the small of their boyfriends back, the other firmly but gently holding onto on Logan's thigh.

Logan couldn't stop the embarrassed flush that spread across his cheeks, and cleared his throat softly.

"Well," he began, "it appears I accidentally fell asleep in the garden, in a different area than our usual spot." He admitted softly, purposefully not looking at any of them.

"It was irresponsible of me, and a apologize for worrying you and for the fuss I stirred up with the searches," he continued, as he subconsciously tightened his hold on Patton and moved his other hand to thread his fingers through Virgil's hair. "it was not my intention to make anyone worry, and it wasn't my intention to fall asleep, but I'm still sorry for doing both, and I'm sorry for upsetting you."

There was a small moment of silence, and then Virgil was leaning forward and pressing his head against Logan's chest.

"It's not your fault," he said softly as he snaked his arms around Logan's waist, hugging him tightly.

"Yeah," Roman agreed, "and we're not upset or anything -mistakes happen."

"Like when I worried everyone by leaving to go to town without saying anything." Virgil added softly. "It wasn't my intention to make you all worry, but I accidentally did." He continued, "and you weren't upset with me, were you?"

"No, no I wasn't." Logan said softly.

"Then it should make sense that we're not upset with you," Patton said, "it was a simple mistake love, it could have been any of us, so there's no need to apologize and sound so guilty."

"I don't like making you worry, you shouldn't need to worry about me." Logan said.

"I think I'm physically incapable of not worrying about you, or any of you for that matter." Virgil said, and Logan could hear the smile in his voice. "But I don't mind worrying, cause I'd rather be worried over nothing than not worried when something is actually wrong."

"Yeah, we'd rather be safe than sorry." Patton said. "Okay?"

"Yeah, okay." Logan said softly, before laying back and sinking into the pillows, pulling Virgil and Patton along with him.

"Oh! Can we cuddle? We still have almost an hour before dinner!" Roman asked with a grin.

"I'm sure it could be arranged." Virgil said as he curled up against Logan's side.

Roman nodded and quickly pulled his own shoes off, before pulling off all of their shoes as well, hushing them when they protested and telling them he'd take care of it so they didn't all have to get up.

"If you tickle my feet I will kick you off this bed." Logan said when Roman finished pulling his shoes off and chucked them over the edge of the bed.

"How rude." Roman said, before crawling up the bed and getting himself comfortable against Logan's chest, practically laying on top of him. The three basically hand him surrounded, one pressed to each side and one above him.

The four of them relaxed into the soft mattress, not bothering to cover up with the blankets. They spoke softly to each other, while hands trailed over covered torsos and drew invisible designs on palms and backs. It was peaceful, and if they had more time it would be almost certain that at least one of them would fall asleep in the soft loving lull they'd all been soothed into.

But unfortunately, the hour seemed to move by too quickly, and then soon found themselves heading to the dining room for dinner.

Logan, upon arriving, quickly apologized to Virgil's parents for causing them worry and for having them waste their time and the usage of their guards looking for him.

But they quickly brushed it off, saying there was no reason to apologize, and that they'd gladly "waste their time" to look for him or any of them again if need be.

Dinner was quickly served after they'd been seated, which was fortunate for Logan, since he hadn't eaten since that morning at breakfast.

Plates and platters were quickly laid out on the table, stacked high with freshly cooked delicious food.

The meal for that night was thick penne pasta noddles covered in several different melted cheeses, some of which looked crisped, like it had been thrown into a pan with the cheese and noddles for a while, a dark savory sauce, and shredded pieces of slightly crisped seared chicken, the scent of which had Logan's mouth watering. He could tell that the chicken alone was rich with seasonings, and looked nice and juicy as well. As a side dish there was a cheese bread, baked with the cheese so it was nice and crisp, but the bread was soft and thick on the inside, there was also fresh salad with carrots and tomatoes, along with a variety of dressings you could pick from, and there was even another bread, this one a dark rye that was still warm from the oven, and generously lathered with butter.  
There there was also the option of water or iced lemon tea, both of which say in a two different pitchers on the table, despite the fact that everyone was already provided with a cup of water.

"Tonight's dinner is penne pasta with mozzarella and cheddar cheese, and shredded chicken breasts that have been marinating in a tomato-based marinade since yesterday evening, cooked to perfection and seasoned with rosemary, sage, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, and basil, before being added to the rest of the dish.  
One of your sides is a thick cheese French bread, which had been baked with the cheese and a sprinkling of garlic powder. Then you have a delicious fresh rye bread, accompanied by simple butter -be careful because it is still rather hot, and finally a fresh garden salad, and you choice of dressings." A chef who had helped bring the food out explained, before bowing and leaving with the rest of the servants.

They all quickly dug in, happily enjoying the delicious food and drinks and thanking the chef when he came back to ask how the meal had been going and if they had any problems.

They soon finished their food and dessert was quickly brought out.

"This evenings dessert is a delicious apple cinnamon cobbler," the chef began as the dessert was served and laid out for them, "the apples are fresh and seasoned with cinnamon, vanilla, honey, and brown sugar, and topped with a crust butter crust that has been cooked with a sprinkling of raw sugar on top of it as well. Then you each had a small side dishes of sliced lemons, cream, and caramel to add to your cobbler if you wish to. We have also provided you some freshly brewed apple cider, be careful both the cider and the cobbler are still hot." With that, the chef and the servants who had laid the food out left them to eat.

The cobbler was delicious. The inside was sweet and gooey but the apples weren't mushy or over cooked. The crust was a rich golden and was delicious when combined with the rest of the dessert. 

Logan did end up squeezing a bit of lemon juice onto his potion, along with some of the caramel and cream, but not a lot of the cream -unlike patton, who had happily coated his entire potion with his own portion cream, along with the rest of Logan's and Virgil's -both of which had offered it to him.

The cider was also delicious. It was sweet and cinnamon-y, and was so warm it began to make Logan feel a bit sleepy -or that could be his now happy and full stomach.

After they were finished with their dessert, the four of them quickly thanked the chef and the servants, and wished the king and queen a goodnight before going to their own rooms to get ready for bed, and then making their way to Logan's room.

They all quickly curled up on the bed, with Roman tucked up to Logan's chest, with Virgil pressed to his back and Patton pressed to Logan's back. They were all relaxed and tired, and were ready for a good nights rest with blanket pulled up over them and all snuggled up close to each other and comfortable.

"I love you guys." Patton muttered softly from where his face was pressed against Logan's spine, his grip on Logan's waist tightening slightly.

"Me as well," Logan said softly.

The only responses they got from Roman and Virgil was a soft hum of agreement from the latter, and a small yet somehow endearing snore from the former, and Logan could practically feel Patton's smile pressed into his back due to their two sleepy boyfriends.

"Goodnight."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And ta-da  
There's another one  
Wooo  
Chapters yay
> 
> Anywho, the next chapter should be out soon, hopefully yalls like it when it is out.
> 
> And again, I am still accepting requests and prompts!! So don't be afraid to comment or pm me something you might want to see!
> 
> Also!!!!!!  
I missed it, but August 28th was the anniversary of this fic!!!! One full year of writing!!!  
Just thought I’d say that
> 
> Bye!!

**Author's Note:**

> How did I do?  
I hope you enjoyed this!!  
Comment below is you have any suggestions!  
Bye!!
> 
> The tumblr that I'm posting this on is @thegalacticmoth


End file.
